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MEMOIRS-OF 

LI'HUNG'CHANG 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


//I      ^J  ^JK/LU— 


MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 


7/      ')l'Jm,-,:ry'e,- 


'/.'v^.  ■.•/■.•/  /.Vv/y  vv/^y. 


MEMOIRS   OF 

LI   HUNG  CHANG 

EDITED    BY 

WILLIAM  FRANCIS  MANNIX 

WITH  AN   INTRODUCTION  BY 
HON.  JOHN  W.   FOSTER 


BOSTON   AND   NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,  I913,  BY  HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
ALL  RIGHTS  RKSERVED 

Published  October  IQ13 


DS 

EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

It  Is  believed  that  the  memoirs  of  LI  Hung  Chang 
will  speak  for  themselves,  or,  better,  for  the  famous 
Viceroy,  who  In  the  flesh  was  ever  ready  to  speak 
for  the  betterment  of  his  country  and  her  people. 
Still  It  Is  deemed  advisable  here  to  call  the  reader's 
attention  to  the  form  In  which  the  translated  tran- 
scriptions are  given  to  the  public. 

The  Viceroy  was  by  no  means  a  careful  diarist; 
indeed,  the  contrary  was  true.  Many  of  his  manu- 
scripts were  left  In  Hankow  when  he  went  north  to 
Tientsin;  and  the  writings  of  twenty-four  years  In 
the  latter  city  were  undisturbed  in  his  rich  private 
lodge  until  about  two  years  ago,  when  from  half  a 
score  of  cities  of  China  —  Hankow,  Canton,  Shang- 
hai, Nanking,  Suchau,  Peking,  Tientsin,  and  others 
—  his  writings  were  collected  by  a  provincial  gov- 
ernor of  the  two  Kwangs  provinces,  a  nephew  of 
Li's,  and  deposited  in  the  palatial  residence  of  the 
former  Viceroy  at  Canton. 

With  the  permission  of  the  Imperial  Government 
nearly  two  years  ago,  and  the  consent  of  the  trustees 
and  heirs  of  Li  Hung  Chang's  estate,  the  great  mass 
of  documents  and  notes  were  examined,  and  care- 
fully translated  by  Major  R.  Emmet  Roberts,  a 
secretary  of  the  late  Viceroy,  assisted  by  Drs.  Wang, 
of  Peking,  and  Hsiu-Tsal,  the  Elder,  of  Canton. 


vi  EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

Over  one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  words 
of  the  Viceroy's  memoirs  were  translated  and  dili- 
gently compared;  and  from  this  large  mass,  these 
notes  —  comprising  the  only  writings  of  the  Grand 
Secretary  that  have  ever  been  rendered  into  English 

—  are  for  the  first  time  offered  to  the  public  of 
England  and  America. 

It  will  be  remarked  that  various  subjects  are 
treated  under  separate  titles.  The  original  manu- 
scripts, found  in  many  different  cities  of  China,  and 
placed  at  our  disposal  through  the  great  kindness  of 
family  and  friends,  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
Imperial  Government,  —  nearly  two  years  ago,  — 
treated,  of  course,  of  a  multitude  of  subjects.  A  line 

—  a  column  of  characters  —  would  be  the  sum-total 
of  comment  at  a  particular  time;  while,  later  on, 
when  perhaps  the  Viceroy  occupied  a  wholly  differ- 
ent post,  maybe  in  another  part  of  the  empire,  he 
would  revert  to  the  subject  and,  it  might  be,  write 
three,  five,  or  twenty  pages.  Still  later,  again,  he 
would  express  himself  upon  the  same  subject  from  a 
different  or  new  viewpoint. 

'It  was  thought  best,  therefore,  —  and  particu- 
larly as  it  was  manifestly  out  of  the  question,  because 
of  their  great  bulk,  to  publish  his  entire  writings, 
which  amount  to  the  equivalent  of  some  one  million 
six  hundred  thousand  English  words,  —  to  make 
selections  from  his  diary  and  other  manuscripts  to 
be  grouped  together  under  appropriate  heads,  at 
the  same  time  arranging  them  chronologically. 


EDITOR'S   PREFACE  vii 

And  this  calls  for  the  second  and  final  explanation. 
While  the  translators  found  little  difhculty  in  render- 
ing into  English  the  beautifully  executed  characters 
of  the  great  Viceroy,  they  were  sorely  distracted  in 
the  matter  of  determining  dates;  for  in  his  earlier 
years,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  appearance  as  Vice- 
roy at  Tientsin,  Li  marked  his  manuscripts  in  a  way 
of  his  own :  in  strange  cycles  and  reigns.  So  confusing 
was  this,  even  to  the  Chinese  scholars  engaged  in 
the  work,  that  they  agreed  to  omit  many  of  them, 
unanimously  asserting  that/to  ascertain  with  exact- 
ness when  each  entry  was  made  would  require  a 
year's  time  of  an  expert  Chinese  historian  ^ 

Even  from  1870  onward,  Li,  though  making  use 
generally  of  more  modern  methods,  went  to  extremes 
in  the  dating  of  some  of  his  entries  and  manuscripts, 
writing,  for  example,  "  12th  Day  of  the  5th  Moon, 
of  the  loth  Year  of  Kuang  Su.  Hour  of  the  Sheep," 
to  identify  the  time  of  putting  upon  paper  a  few 
unimportant  statements,  and  quite  ignoring  to 
state  time  or  place  in  connection  with  comments  or 
historical  data  of  world-wide  interest.  In  some  of 
these  latter,  dates_haveJbeerL  supplied,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  associating  the  matter  with  the  proper  period 
of  the  Viceroy's  life,  rather  than  because  of  any  belief 
that  either  their  presence  or  absence  would  add  to  or 
detract  from  the  political  or  literary  value  of  his 
words. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  volume  does  not  presume 
to  present  all  that  Li  Hung  Chang  wrote  upon  the 


viii  EDITOR'S   PREFACE 

subjects  given  herein  under  the  various  part  titles, 
or  even  a  larger  portion;  but  in  the  making  of  the 
selections  it  has  been  the  aim  of  the  Editor  to  include 
those  which  he  believed  held  the  widest  and  most 
enduring  intexest. 

W.  F.  M. 

Shanghai,  December  i,  1912. 


CONTENTS 


Introduction,  by  Hon.  John  W.  Foster 
I.   His  Ambitions  in  Literature    . 
n.   His  Views  of  Christianity 
HI.   Relations  with  General  Gordon 
IV.  At  the  Shrine  of  Lady  Yuen  Fi    . 
V.   In  the  Time  of  Famine 
VI.   Devotion  to  Agriculture   . 
VII.  Afterthoughts  of  the  Japanese  War 
VIII.  A  Coup  d'Etat  on  the  Horizon 
IX.  At  the  Czar's  Coronation 
X.   Men  and  Things  in  Germany 
XI.   In  France  and  England 
XII.  The  Atlantic  Voyage  and  New  York 

XIII.  What  he  saw  in  America    . 

XIV.  Short  Notes  from  his  Diary 
XV.   His  Task  in  the  Boxer  Crisis 

XVI.  Called  to  the  Throne's  Aid 
XVII.   His  Fight  to  hold  Korea  . 
XVIII.  The  Cession  of  Formosa     . 
XIX.   Estimates  of  Prominent  Persons  . 
XX.  The  Opium  Habit  and  Traffic 
Appendix:  Poetical  Writings  on  Opium 


.   XI 

I 
.  13 
.  43 
.  72 
.  85 
.  88 

•  97 
.  123 
.  141 
.  156 
.  169 

.  183 
.  198 
.  212 
.  220 
.  228 
.  249 
.  260 
.  271 
.  280 

•  295 


INTRODUCTION 

Li  Hung  Chang  was  not  only  the  greatest  man  the 
Chinese  race  has  produced  in  modern  times,  but,  in 
a  combination  of  quaHties,  the  most  unique  person- 
ality of  the  past  century  among  all  the  nations  of 
the  world.  He  was  distinguished  as  a  man  of  letters; 
as  a  soldier  in  important  campaigns  he  rendered 
valuable  services  to  his  country;  as  a  statesman  for 
thirty  years  he  maintained  a  recognised  preeminence 
over  his  countrymen  in  the  oldest  and  most  populous 
nation  of  the  earth ;  and  as  a  diplomat  his  achieve- 
ments entitle  him  to  a  front  rank  in  the  international 
relations  of  all  history. 

The  last  one  hundred  years  have  produced  many 
men  of  scholarship,  several  great  generals,  a  number 
of  statesmen  of  distinguished  ability  and  success, 
and  a  few  diplomats  of  high  rank ;  but  no  one  of  these 
can  be  singled  out  as  having  combined  in  his  person 
all  these  attainments  in  such  an  eminent  degree 
as  Li  Hung  Chang.  Because  of  his  distinction  in 
all  these  fields  of  human  activity,  we  should  wel- 
come these  memoirs,  extracted  from  his  volumin- 
ous diary,  as  a  valuable  contribution  for  the  better 
understanding  of  his  character  and  services. 

In  forming  an  estimate  of  any  man,  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  and  his  environment  are  to  be  con- 
sidered.  It  is  hardly  just  to  estimate  the  character 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

and  attainments  of  LI  Hung  Chang  according  to  the 
standard  of  European  or  Western  nations.  His 
education  was  exclusively  Oriental,  and  until  he 
had  passed  the  allotted  Scriptural  period  of  man's 
life,  his  had  been  spent  entirely  In  China.  His 
knowledge  of  our  civilisation  was  only  such  as  could 
be  acquired  In  the  motley  society  of  a  treaty  port. 
As  a  statesman  he  had  to  deal  with  a  very  conserva- 
tive and  bigoted  constituency,  and  with  associates 
prejudiced  against  and  Ignorant  of  foreign  nations. 
He  was  born  and  reared  In  a  rural  community,  of 
worthy  but  not  distinguished  parentage.  His  father, 
of  the  "gentry"  class,  had  successfully  passed  the 
examinations,  but  held  no  official  position,  and  was 
possessed  of  no  means  of  procuring  his  son's  advance- 
ment beyond  affording  him  an  opportunity  to  pursue 
his  studies  and  fit  himself  for  the  examinations. 
These  he  successfully  passed  In  all  grades,  and  In  the 
final  contest  at  Peking  he  came  out  with  distin- 
guished honours  among  twenty  thousand  competi- 
tors. Later  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  Han-lin 
College,  which  corresponds  somewhat  to  the  French 
Academy. 

He  therefore  had  reason  to  take  pride  In  his 
accomplishments  and  standing  as  a  scholar,  and 
throughout  his  career  he  was  recognised  by  his 
countrymen  as  in  the  first  rank  among  the  men  of 
letters.  Some  of  his  writings  In  prose  and  poetry 
had  wide  circulation  In  the  empire  and  gained  him 
much  praise.    His  diary  shows  that  he  himself  put 


INTRODUCTION  xlii 

great  store  on  his  literary  attainments,  and  until 
late  in  life,  when  absorbed  in  the  weighty  affairs  of 
state,  his  highest  ambition  was  to  be  recognised  as 
the  poet-laureate  of  his  people. 

In  his  early  manhood  he  thought  only  of  a  literary 
career;  but  the  course  of  public  affairs  was  destined 
to  defeat  his  expectation,  and  turn  his  life  into  an 
entirely  different  channel.  The  Taiping  Rebellion, 
one  of  the  most  sanguinary  in  the  history  of  the 
human  race,  had  its  inception  during  his  student 
days;  and  about  the  time  of  his  return  from  the 
imperial  capital  to  his  home  to  receive  the  honours 
which  every  Chinese  community  showers  upon  its 
successful  students,  the  rebellion  had  assumed  its 
most  alarming  proportions.  As  he  reached  his 
father's  house  he  saw  the  rebels  pass  by  on  their 
triumphant  march  towards  Peking.  His  patriotism 
was  stirred  within  him  as  he  saw  the  dynasty  which 
had  conferred  on  him  such  high  honours  and  the 
ancient  government  in  imminent  peril.  He  at  once 
set  to  work  to  raise  a  volunteer  regiment  to  fall  upon 
and  harass  the  rear  of  the  enemy.  His  diary  reveals 
the  man:  "Everybody  knows  that  a  soldier  is  de- 
spised, and  that,  according  to  the  Old  Rules,  I  am 
leaving  the  greatest  of  the  professions  for  the  worst 
of  occupations.  .  .  .  But  is  this  a  time  for  writing 
poetry  ?  Who  cares  for  romances  when  fire  and  sword 
are  in  the  land?" 

The  next  four  years  found  him  actively  engaged  in 
warfare;  and  he  showed  such  aptitude  for  the  pro- 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

fesslon  that  he  had  the  distinction  of  being  in  com- 
mand of  the  army  which  gave  the  death-blow  to 
the  rebelUon.  In  this  period  he  had  under  his  com- 
mand the  American  soldier,  General  Ward,  who 
organised  the  "  Ever  Victorious  Army,"  and  General 
Gordon,  who  assumed  its  leadership  on  the  heroic 
death  of  Ward.  The  diary  gives  great  credit  to  the 
latter,  and  reveals  not  only  a  high  appreciation  of 
the  services  of  Gordon,  but  an  accurate  comprehen- 
sion of  his  merits  and  defects. 

His  military  career  continued  for  some  years, 
owing  to  the  disordered  state  of  the  country,  coupled 
with  civil  duties  of  high  responsibility,  until  he  was 
called  by  the  Emperor  to  face  the  crisis  occasioned 
by  the  riots  in  Tientsin  in  1870,  which  threatened 
a  war  with  France.  He  brought  with  him  to  this 
important  viceroyalty  a  high  reputation  for  military 
skill,  great  administrative  capacity,  and  devoted 
loyalty  to  the  reigning  dynasty;  and  was  thence- 
forth regarded  as  one  of  the  most  famous  men  of  his 
nation.  His  successful  termination  of  the  questions 
growing  out  of  the  riots  so  impressed  the  Imperial 
Government  that  it  showered  upon  him  new  and 
almost  unprecedented  honours.  In  addition  to  his 
appointment  as  Viceroy  of  the  metropolitan  prov- 
ince of  Chihli,  he  was  named  Imperial  Tutor, 
Grand  Secretary  of  State,  Superintendent  of  Trade, 
and  a  noble  of  the  first  rank.  These  high  titles  made 
him  the  first  official  and  statesman  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Emperor. 


■  INTRODUCTION  xv 

For  twenty-five  years  continuously  he  discharged 
the  duties  of  these  high  offices  from  his  residence  at 
Tientsin,  with  occasional  visits  to  Peking.  Because 
of  his  high  rank  and  of  his  location  at  the  seaport 
to  the  capital,  he  was  brought  into  contact  with  all 
persons  having  business  with  the  Government,  and 
stood  as  a  sentinel  on  the  outpost  for  his  secluded 
Emperor.  As  the  virtual  head  of  the  Chinese  For- 
eign Office,  he  proved  himself  a  match  for  the  most 
astute  of  the  trained  European  diplomatists.  While 
the  jealous  guardian  of  his  country's  interests,  he 
always  secured  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  the 
foreign  ministers  with  whom  he  conducted  negotia- 
tions. 

Probably  no  man  of  his  time  received  such  signal 
marks  of  respect  from  his  diplomatic  antagonists 
as  he.  In  a  serious  controversy  with  Great  Britain, 
he  was  so  straightforward  and  just  in  meeting  the 
demands  of  that  Government  that  Sir  Thomas  Wade 
stated  that  he  was  led  to  make  an  important  con- 
cession expressly  to  him  "in  recognition  of  the 
frankness  with  which  he  had  negotiated  this  trouble- 
some business."  In  the  adjustment  of  the  French 
conflict  with  China  of  1885,  the  French  Minister 
inserted  in  the  treaty  a  renunciation  of  all  claim  for 
indemnity,  in  order  thereby  "to  pay  a  mark  of 
regard  to  the  patriotic  wisdom  of  His  Excellency  Li 
Hung  Chang." 

When  the  Japanese  Government  in  1895  refused 
to  receive  the  first  peace  commissioners,  the  Prime 


x\d  INTRODUCTION 

Minister,  Count  Ito,  sent  a  message  to  Peking  that 
if  Li  Hung  Chang  should  be  appointed,  he  would  be 
received  and  treated  with  the  highest  consideration ; 
and  the  sequel  realised  to  the  greatest  extent  this 
high  estimate  of  his  character  and  ability.  In  prep- 
aration for  the  ceremonies  of  the  coronation  of 
Emperor  Nicholas  II,  the  Czar  himself  sent  a  per- 
sonal request  to  the  Chinese  Emperor  that  Li  Hung 
Chang  should  be  entrusted  with  the  mission  of 
special  Ambassador  for  that  occasion.  It  has  been 
charged  that  the  Viceroy  was  under  the  undue 
influence  of  Russia,  it  even  being  asserted  that  he 
had  been  controlled  in  his  conduct  by  corrupt 
motives.  The  publication  of  this  diary  will  set  at 
rest  all  such  insinuations,  as  it  makes  it  clear  that 
he  correctly  estimated  the  schemes  of  that  Govern- 
ment, and  that  in  his  relations  with  it  his  conduct 
was  patriotic. 

In  a  country  where  office  was  greatly  sought  after 
as  a  stepping-stone  to  power  and  self-aggrandise- 
ment, it  was  natural  that  a  man  in  his  high  position 
would  have  enemies  among  his  own  countrymen. 
His  diary  shows  that  they  were  numerous,  and  that 
he  visited  some  of  them  with  intense  antagonism. 
But  the  mass  of  his  countrymen  recognised  him  as 
the  first  and  ablest  of  the  public  officials,  and  paid 
him  honour  as  such.  This  was  demonstrated  in  a 
notable  manner  on  the  observance  of  his  seventieth 
birthday.  The  Emperor  sent  various  rich  and  appro- 
priate gifts,  with  flattering  inscriptions  written  in  his 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

own  hand;  the  Empress  Dowager  vied  with  her 
imperial  ward  in  her  gifts;  subjects  of  high  and  low 
degree  and  foreign  residents  lavished  upon  him 
presents  and  mementoes;  processions,  ceremonies, 
and  banquets  in  Chinese  profusion  were  the  order 
of  the  day;  and  all  culminated  in  an  address  signed 
by  the  leading  officials  throughout  the  empire, 
written  by  Chang  Chi-tung,  next  to  the  Viceroy  the 
most  honoured  and  influential  man  in  the  country, 
and  often  his  political  opponent.  As  a  specimen  of 
Chinese  eulogy  an  extract  may  be  interesting :  — 

"You  are  altogether  to  be  admired;  in  literature 
deep,  in  warcraft  terrible,  in  perception  acute,  in 
genius  sublime,  entrenched  on  every  side,  unassail- 
able. ...  As  I  stand  beside  you  in  the  Han-lin,  I 
feel  how  small  I  am,  how  little  able  to  grapple  with 
the  great  matters  met  within  my  province  on  the 
great  river.  In  you  we  have  perfect  confidence,  and 
I  earnestly  desire  to  learn  from  you.  Compared 
with  you,  I  am  as  a  simple  peasant  to  a  picked  archer, 
a  poor  jade  to  a  fleet  racer.  You  are  men's  ideal; 
you,  like  Kang  Hou,  enjoy  the  confidence  of  our 
Sovereign;  yours  is  the  glory  of  Chang  the  Council- 
lor.  You  are  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes." 

Although  in  his  public  life  the  Viceroy  was  of 
stern  and  unrelenting  character  and  apparently 
indifferent  to  human  life,  the  diary  reveals  in  many 
places  a  tender  heart  and  sympathetic  nature.  His 
devotion  to  his  mother  was  most  touching.  Her  last 
illness  and  death  occurred  in  a  distant  province 


xvlii  INTRODUCTION 

while  he  was  Immersed  in  important  affairs  of  state 
at  Tientsin.  He  memorialised  the  Empress  Regents 
for  a  leave  of  absence  to  go  to  her  bedside  in  which 
he  said:  "She  is  eighty- three  years  old  and  her  con- 
stitution is  breaking  up;  and  the  thought  of  her 
absent  son  continually  recurs  to  her  and  makes  her 
illness  more  dangerous.  When  memorialist  heard 
this  his  heart  burned  with  anxiety,  and  his  sleep  and 
his  food  were  worthless.  Since  he  bade  her  farewell 
thirteen  years  ago,  he  has  never  seen  his  mother's 
face." 

A  leave  of  absence  for  one  month  was  granted  him, 
but  before  he  could  start  on  his  journey  news  came 
of  her  death,  and  he  petitioned  for  the  usual  retire- 
ment of  three  years  for  mourning,  but  the  Empress 
Regents  answered  that  the  state  of  public  affairs 
would  only  allow  of  one  hundred  days.  But  this  did 
not  satisfy  his  grief  at  the  failure  to  reach  his  mother 
before  her  death,  and  he  sent  another  lengthy 
memorial,  saying:  "Remorse  will  haunt  memorialist 
all  his  life,  and  there  is  a  wound  in  his  heart  that 
prevents  him  privately  from  enjoying  a  moment's 
respite  from  pain,  and  publicly  from  being  of  any 
service  to  the  state.  .  .  .  Even  if  he,  separated 
beyond  hope  from  meeting  his  mother,  the  living 
from  the  dead,  were  to  spend  three  years  in  lamenta- 
tions at  her  tomb,  it  would  not  avail  to  relieve  his 
soul  from  the  poignant  and  inexpressible  regret  he 
feels  for  his  lack  of  filial  duty."  We  find  that  years 
after,  when  absorbed  in  his  official  duties,  he  records 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

that  fourteen  years  had  passed  that  day  since  his 
mother  died  and  that  he  secluded  himself  from  all 
callers.  "With  all  the  incidents  of  my  life,  its  trials 
and  lamentations,  its  moments  of  joy  and  pride, 
with  all  and  every  affair  of  life,  I  cannot  forget  my 
celestial  mother  and  all  she  was  and  is  to  me." 

The  unique  correspondence  with  the  Empress 
Regents  brings  out  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
traits  of  Chinese  character  —  veneration  for  parents, 
which  has  become  sanctified  into  religious  worship, 
and  also  has  exercised  a  marked  influence  on  the 
political  relations  of  the  people,  the  Emperor  being 
the  parental  head  of  the  nation.  If  the  fifth  com- 
mandment of  the  Mosaic  code  were  as  faithfully 
observed  by  Christian  nations  as  the  central  doc- 
trine of  the  Confucian  philosophy  is  practised  by 
the  Celestials,  the  social  order  of  the  Western  world 
would  be  greatly  improved. 

We  see  something  more  of  the  Viceroy's  humanity 
when,  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  the  grim  warrior 
stood  beside  the  bedside  of  the  American  General 
Ward,  and  the  tears  flowed  down  his  cheeks  as  he 
thought  of  the  soldier  dying  for  China,  "so  far  from 
his  family  and  friends."  His  sympathetic  nature 
was  shown,  also,  in  the  fearful  famine  which  during 
his  viceroyalty  visited  Chihli  and  the  neighbouring 
provinces.  He  was  the  most  prominent  agent  in 
staying  the  ravages  of  this  fatal  scourge,  and  his 
energy,  business  capacity,  and  large-hearted  charity 
were  conspicuously  displayed  in  the  measures  for 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

relief.  In  addition  to  the  public  and  charitable  funds 
which  he  disbursed,  the  diary  shows  that  he  fed 
daily  from  his  own  table  between  one  and  two  thou- 
sand of  the  starving,  and  from  his  own  purse  near 
five  thousand  in  the  near-by  villages.  "My  mother 
is  blessing  me  every  day  for  this  work;  and  she  says 
the  Gods  as  well  as  the  people  will  not  forget  that 
my  wealth,  such  as  I  have,  is  not  withheld  from  the 
poor  and  needy." 

In  nothing  is  the  diary  more  useful  than  in  show- 
ing the  development  of  Li  Hung  Chang's  mind 
respecting  foreigners  and  the  Christian  missionaries, 
and  how  with  growing  experience  his  ideas  under- 
went a  complete  change.  Early  in  his  public  career, 
when  his  knowledge  was  limited  to  a  brief  inter- 
course with  foreigners  at  Shanghai  during  the 
Taiping  Rebellion,  he  partook  strongly  of  the  hatred 
and  prejudice  of  the  masses.  At  this  time  he  records, 
"I  hate  all  foreigners."  But  fifteen  years  later, 
when  he  had  become  better  acquainted  with  the  ills 
which  afflicted  his  country,  and  just  as  he  was 
starting  to  assume  his  duties  at  Tientsin  and  put  an 
end  to  the  anti-foreign  riots,  he  writes:  "In  spite  of 
all  dislikes,  if  we  truly  have  the  best  interests  of 
China  at  heart,  we  will  no  longer  oppose  the  coming 
of  the  foreigner,  for  he  is  bound  to  come  anyway, 
even  if  he  must  ride  behind  a  bayonet  or  sit  upon  the 
big  gun  of  a  warship."  And  he  expressed  great 
pleasure  that  the  Throne  had  selected  him  for  the 
task  at  Tientsin.    About  this  time  he  records  that 


INTRODUCTION  xxi 

he  is  preparing  an  article  advocating  the  right  of 
foreigners  to  reside  in  China,  which  he  intends  to 
submit  to  the  Throne  and  have  printed  and  circu- 
lated in  every  province.  After  his  coming  to  Tientsin 
foreigners  were  fully  protected  in  the  provinces 
under  his  administration.  He  was  not  blind  to  their 
encroachments  and  arrogance,  but  he  recognised 
their  usefulness  to  the  Country  and  that  they  were 
entitled  to  protection.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
Boxer  outbreak,  when  Viceroy  at  Canton,  he  reports 
that  some  of  the  viceroys  had  received  orders  to  be 
prepared  to  despatch  all  foreigners,  which  he  terms 
"dastardly  commands.  How  well  the  authors  knew 
better  than  to  send  such  outrageous  documents  to 
me."  When  we  call  to  mind  the  experience  China 
has  had  with  certain  Western  nations,  it  does  not 
seem  strange  that  his  attachment  to  foreigners  in 
general  should  not  have  been  very  ardent,  but  he 
came  to  feel  the  need  of  foreign  aid,  and  solicited 
it  and  gave  it  proper  welcome. 

The  Viceroy's  mind  underwent  much  the  same 
experience  respecting  Christianity  and  missionaries. 
As  he  reached  manhood  he  possessed  the  same  igno- 
rance and  hatred  of  missionaries  and  their  work  as 
prevailed  generally  throughout  the  country,  referred 
to  them  as  "foreign  devils,"  and  treated  their  doc- 
trines with  scorn.  But  gradually,  as  he  became  per- 
sonally better  informed  as  to  their  work,  he  revised 
his  judgment.  Soon  after  assuming  charge  at  Tient- 
sin he  notes  a  conference  with  Tseng-Kofan,  the 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

great  statesman  of  that  day,  who,  he  says,  "like 
myself,  has  changed  his  views  exceedingly  in  the 
past  five  or  six  years,  and  is  no  longer  a  hater  of 
the  Christians."  Fifteen  years  later  he  went  so  far 
as  to  put  Christ  and  Confucius  on  the  same  exalted 
plane  and  to  assert  that  if  he  were  in  England  or 
America  he  would  want  to  call  himself  a  Christian. 
He  treats  their  doctrines  as  philosophic  or  moral, 
and  fails  to  comprehend  the  spiritual  quality  of  the 
teaching  and  mission  of  Christ.  But  his  prejudice 
against  Christianity  had  disappeared,  and  he  said 
that  there  were  millions  in  China  who  would  be 
benefited  by  a  knowledge  of  Jesus,  as  they  do  not 
trouble  themselves  to  follow  Confucius.  Neverthe- 
less, the  inconsistencies  of  the  Christian  nations  did 
not  fail  to  attract  his  attention.  He  notes  how  they 
fight  among  themselves  and  cherish  most  bitter 
hatred  against  each  other.  "The  French  hate  the 
Germans,  and  the  Russians  kill  the  Jews,  but  they 
are  all  Christians  when  they  come  to  China";  and 
he  refers  to  the  action  of  Great  Britain  in  forcing 
opium  on  the  Chinese  as  one  of  the  impediments  to 
the  progress  of  Christianity,  with  this  closing  com- 
ment: "A  great  nation,  a  Christian  nation  above  all 
things,  has  given  this  awful  blight  to  the  Middle 
Kingdom.   What  are  our  people  to  think?" 

In  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age,  Li  Hung 
Chang  made  his  first  journey  to  foreign  lands.  It 
was  a  memorable  event  in  his  life.  The  occasion  of  it 
was  the  coronation  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  This 


INTRODUCTION  xxiii 

ceremony  brought  together  at  the  ancient  Muscovite 
capital  such  a  representation  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth  as  was  never  before  assembled  in  the  world. 
And  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  most  notable  personage 
in  that  august  assemblage  was  the  representative  of 
the  "Son  of  Heaven,"  the  Emperor  of  China.  In 
length  of  public  service,  in  the  character  and  impor- 
tance of  that  service  and  of  the  myriads  of  people 
in  whose  behalf  it  was  rendered,  in  his  intellectual 
attainments,  his  unique  characteristics,  and  in  his 
commanding  personality,  the  Chinese  representa- 
tive was  the  most  conspicuous  witness  of  the  young 
Czar's  coronation. 

Aside  from  his  distinguished  services  and  his  high 
offices,  he  was  a  man  well  suited  to  be  placed  at  the 
head  of  an  imposing  embassy,  and  to  represent  his 
imperial  master.  He  was  of  pure  Chinese  extraction, 
having  no  mixture  of  Manchu  blood.  Although  in 
his  seventy-fifth  year,  he  was  in  fair  degree  of  health 
and  vigour,  of  fine  physique,  full  six  feet  in  height, 
of  commanding  presence,  erect  and  stoutly  built, 
with  dark,  piercing  eyes,  and  a  face  strongly  moulded 
and  indicative  of  strength  of  character,  and  that 
would  command  attention  in  any  foreign  circle. 
Dressed  in  his  parti-coloured  silken  robes,  and  his  hat 
decorated  with  the  three-eyed  peacock  feathers,  he 
could  not  fail  to  attract  attention. 

The  Viceroy  having  made  the  journey  to  Russia 
via  the  Suez  Canal,  he  continued  the  circumnaviga- 
tion of  the  globe  by  way  of  the  Western  nations  of 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

Europe  and  America,  in  the  course  of  which  he  met 
the  crowned  heads  and  leading  statesmen  of  those 
countries,  received  marked  ovations  everywhere  by 
the  officials  and  people,  witnessed  military  and 
naval  reviews,  and  saw  the  marvellous  industrial 
and  social  development  of  Occidental  civilisation. 
He  returned  to  his  home  land  more  impressed  than 
ever  with  its  needs  of  the  elements  which  had  made 
those  nations  so  powerful  and  prosperous.  Had  he 
possessed  this  knowledge  at  the  beginning  of  his 
public  career,  how  much  more  valuable  would  have 
been  the  services  to  the  country  of  this  commanding 
personality,  and  how  much  greater  the  credit  he 
deserves  for  having  served  it  so  well  in  ignorance  of 
the  great  world  beyond  the  confines  of  the  Middle 
Kingdom. 

The  diary  gives  us  new  light  upon  his  relations 
and  personal  intercourse  with  Their  Majesties  and 
especially  with  the  Empress  Dowager,  Tze  Hsi,  that 
notable  woman,  who  for  half  a  century  was  the  ruling 
spirit  of  the  Chinese  Government.  At  four  different 
times  in  his  career  he  was  stripped  of  his  "yellow 
jacket"  and  all  his  honours,  and  disgraced  in  the  eyes 
of  his  countrymen  by  that  irascible  woman,  yet  he 
remained  loyal  to  the  Throne,  assured  that  she  knew 
the  value  of  his  services  and  would  again  bestow 
upon  him  honour  and  high  duty.  He  records: 
"Whenever  there  is  trouble,  I  am  always  the  physi- 
cian in  attendance,  but,  instead  of  collecting  a  fee,  I 
am  usually  subject  to  a  fine  for  my  trouble  and  skill." 


INTRODUCTION  xxv 

On  several  occasions,  when  the  fate  of  the  nation 
was  in  peril,  although  under  the  shadow  of  her  dis- 
pleasure, he  did  not  hesitate  to  seek  an  audience 
with  the  Empress  Dowager.  When  the  war  party 
had  gained  the  ascendancy  and  hostilities  were  about 
to  be  declared  against  Japan,  he  remonstrated  so 
strongly  with  her  against  the  step  that  "Her  Majesty 
flew  into  the  worst  rage  in  late  times,"  and  sent  him 
away  stripped  of  his  insignia  of  honour.  Again  when 
the  Boxer  outbreak  was  preparing,  although  he  was 
in  retirement  and  without  office,  knowing  that  she 
was  falling  under  the  influence  of  that  movement, 
he  records,  "  I  am  leaving  for  Peking  to-night,  deter- 
mined to  see  Tze  Hsi  herself,  and  present  the  situa- 
tion to  her  in  the  plainest  manner."  A  lengthy  inter- 
view occurred,  but  it  ended  with  the  Empress 
Dowager  "alive  with  wrath  and  angry  words"  and 
the  Viceroy  sent  from  the  palace,  never  again  to 
appear  in  her  presence.  She  was  evidently  committed 
to  the  Boxer  movement  and  he  was  powerless  to 
avert  the  calamity  that  was  impending. 

Notwithstanding  the  diary  reveals  the  Empress 
Dowager  as  an  arrogant,  cruel,  and  headstrong 
woman,  and  the  Emperor  as  a  weakling,  through  all 
vicissitudes  the  Viceroy  remained  faithful  to  the 
Manchu  Dynasty.  When  following  the  upheaval 
and  the  siege  of  the  legations  the  suggestion  was 
made  in  diplomatic  circles  and  the  press  that  the 
reigning  family  be  deposed  and  a  new  emperor  placed 
on  the  throne,  he  denounced  it  as  so  much  idle  talk, 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

and  recorded  in  his  diary,  as  he  made  known  to  the 
diplomatic  corps,  that  there  was  no  Chinese  family 
sufficiently  respected  to  rule  the  country  in  peace 
and  order. 

The  last  service  he  rendered  his  country  was  the 
crowning  act  of  his  long  career.  After  the  Empress 
Dowager  and  the  Court  had  fled  from  the  capital, 
as  the  allied  armies  occupied  Peking  and  rescued  the 
legations  and  foreign  refugees,  the  nations  which 
had  been  so  grossly  outraged  instructed  their  diplo- 
matic representatives  to  seek  the  punishment  of  the 
guilty  officials  and  exact  full  indemnity  for  the  losses 
sustained.  Notwithstanding  Li  Hung  Chang  had 
been  driven  from  her  presence  with  angry  words 
and  banished  to  a  distant  province  at  Canton,  from 
her  hiding-place  in  the  mountains  she  summoned 
him  to  Peking  to  meet  the  angry  and  determined 
diplomats,  and  save  the  throne  from  extinction  and 
the  empire  from  dismemberment. 

Although  the  disease  which  brought  him  to  the 
grave  was  rapidly  undermining  his  strength,  he 
made  the  long  journey  back  to  the  capital.  On  his 
way,  at  Tientsin,  he  makes  this  entry  in  his  diary: 
"  I  fear  the  task  before  me  is  too  great  for  my  strength 
of  body,  though  I  would  do  one  thing  more  before  I 
call  the  earthly  battle  over.  I  would  have  the  for- 
eigners believe  in  us  once  more,  and  not  deprive 
China  of  her  national  life."  His  labours  were  suc- 
cessful, thanks  in  large  measure  to  the  high  consid- 
eration shown  him  by  the  foreign  negotiators.   It  is 


INTRODUCTION  xxvii 

gratifying  to  Americans  to  know  that  in  his  diary 
he  gives  our  Government  great  credit  for  aiding  him 
to  save  his  country  from  dismemberment  and  from 
conditions  too  burdensome  to  endure. 

Within  a  few  weeks  after  he  signed  the  Protocol 
which  gave  his  country  peace,  he  ended  his  earthly 
life  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of  his  age.  It  was  a 
fitting  end  to  the  stormy  career  of  the  greatest  of 
Oriental  statesmen,  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  public  men  of  the  world. 

John  W.  Foster. 

May,  1913. 


MEMOIRS  OF 

LI   HUNG  CHANG 

CHAPTER   I 

HIS   AMBITIONS   IN   LITERATURE 

"Some  day  I  hope  to  be  the  Chang-yuan  [the  poet- 
laureate]  of  China." 

These  significant  words,  of  such  interest  to  the 
student  of  the  life  of  Li  Hung  Chang,  were  written 
by  him  as  early  as  1846,  while  the  industrious  and 
brilliant  young  man  was  preparing  for  those  higher 
examinations  which  he  was  to  take  a  year  later, 
when  he  would  go  up  for  the  highest  literary  water- 
mark of  his  country  — the  Metropolitan  or  Third 
Degree  of  the  Han-lin. 

That  honour  he  gained  fully,  and  since  he  ranked 
among  the  three  most  successful  in  a  total  of  four 
thousand,  it  may  be  assumed  that,  notwithstanding 
Western  views  of  Chinese  educational  methods,  he 
might  rightly  claim  a  place  among  the  highly  edu- 
cated and  gifted  young  men  of  his  country  and 
generation. 

That  his  aspirations  were  lofty  his  own  words 
tell,  and  that  his  industry  and  ability  were  in  a  very 
large  degree  of  a  kind  making  the  attainment  of 
his  ambitions,  in  whatever  channel  they  might  tend, 


v/ 


2  MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

possible,  no  one  who  has  followed  his  career  of  notable 
achievement  and  high  recognition  will  gainsay. 

Li's  memoirs,  the  words  he  wrote  from  time  to 
time,  often  carelessly,  often  with  apparent  haste, 
and  again  with  a  style  and  diction  indicating  diligent 
and  laborious  thought,  all  point  to  one  supreme  fact: 
that  from  the  beginning  of  his  school-da^^s  almost  to 
the  day  of  his  death  he  cherished,  above  all  others, 
the  profession  of  literature,  and  that  it  was  his  hope 
to  be  known  in  the  future  story  of  his  country  as  a 
poet,  essayist,  and  historian. 

''Some  day  I  hope  to  be  the  poet-laureate  of 
China,"  he  wrote  in  1846.  "  I  am  a  newspaper  man 
myself,"  he  said  to  a  New  York  reporter  exactly 
fifty  years  later. 

^'January,  1846.  —  This  day  I  completed  the  last 
of  my  examinations,  and  I  know  I  have  won  the 
Ready-for-Office  degree!  I  know,  too,  that  I  passed 
high,  for  I  wrote  and  wrote  with  great  ease;  and  the 
classics  I  can  repeat  word  for  word. 

"  I  believe  if  the  great  Emperor  Chow  —  oh!  how 
great  he  was  in  learning  and  in  the  arts !  —  would 
submit  me  to  an  examination,  I  would  please  him 
by  my  answers.  Yes,  and  some  arts  that  have  grown 
and  flourished  since  his  time,  in  which  I  would  sur- 
prise him !  He  taught  that  all  the  six  arts  were  neces- 
sary for  a  man's  life  and  happiness,  but  he  did  not 
speak  much  of  the  classics,  for  the  very  good  reason 
that  the  classics  were  not  as  important  as  now. 


HIS  AMBITIONS   IN  LITERATURE         3 

"The  good  King  of  Learning  made  music  the  first. 
I  am  deficient  in  that,  for  in  these  days  it  is  not 
gentlemen  who  play  in  the  streets  nor  sing  at  fairs. 
Archery  I  know  little  of,  but  it  would  come  to  me 
with  slight  practice,  for  in  our  family  2800  years  ago, 
or  2900,  —  I  shall  figure  this  out,  —  a  great  ancestor, 
now  among  the  chieftains  of  the  Celestial  Kingdom, 
was  famous  for  his  archery.  He  made  the  first  bows 
in  all  Asia,  drew  them  from  the  hearts  of  unknown 
trees,  kept  them  for  long  weeks  immersed  in  the 
brine  of  young  sows,  and  turned  them  out  the  strong- 
est and  with  the  greatest  accuracy  of  spring  in  all 
the  world.  I  could  practise  archery  now  and  become 
expert,  but  I  do  not  want  to  become  a  soldier,  and 
there  is  no  hunting  by  which  a  young  man  could  live 
in  these  days. 

"The  same  in  horsemanship.  The  horses  are  not 
used  much.  I  mean  there  is  only  a  horse  to  a  league 
these  days,  and  I  do  not  expect  to  go  north  or  west 
to  ride  camels.  Besides,  riding  camels  is  not  horse- 
manship. 

"But  in  the  other  arts  of  Chow  I  know  I  would 
please  him,  just  as  I  have  pleased  [here  the  young 
graduate  gives  a  list  of  more  than  two  hundred  and 
seventy  names]  .  .  .  with  the  progress  I  have  made. 
In  the  memorising  of  the  classics,  in  handwriting  — 
my  characters  are  clean  and  artistic,  the  most  so  in 
the  college  the  doctors  say  —  in  mathematics,  even 
into  remote  algebra,  in  astronomy,  and  in  social  and 
religious  rites  I  am  elated  and  confident.  Astronomy 


4  MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

I  shall  study  more  and  more;  it,  and  pure  literature, 
for  who  can  be  a  great  poet  unless  he  understand 
the  movements  in  the  heavens,  and  know  the 
planets  and  their  orbits  by  name  and  rote? 

"It  is  not  given  to  any  man  to  indite  great 
classics  merely  because  he  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Third  College  [LL.D.],  but  if  he  have  the  education, 
and  behind  the  education  the  love,  and  behind  the 
love  the  desire  and  purpose,  he  can  do  work  that 
will  make  his  name  live  gloriously  among  his 
countrymen. 

"  I  have  all  these  now.  I  am  between  twenty-four 
and  twenty-five  years  of  age.  My  father  is  between 
forty-one  and  forty-two.  That  is  a  difference  of 
seventeen.  In  such  a  length  of  time,  if  I  do  not  suffer 
accident  through  the  night,  or  am  not  set  upon  by 
ruffians  in  this  brawly  neighbourhood,  and  if  the 
governor  or  viceroy  give  me  a  place  under  him,  I 
shall  do  much  to  advance  myself  in  my  own  esteem 
and  in  the  esteem  of  others.  People  would  laugh  at 
me,  perhaps,  the  students  would  stone  me,  and  the 
professors  and  friends,  especially  [another  long  list 
of  names]  .  .  .  might  not  think  it  possible,  but  some 
day  I  hope  to  be  the  Chang-yuan  of  China." 

''January  27,  1846.  —  To-day  I  finished  reading 
for  the  ninth  time  the  fine  lesser  classics,  '  Lieh  Nu 
Chuen'  [The  Record  of  Cultured  Women].  My 
list  of  books  is  not  large,  but  I  am  making  good 
use  of  those  I  have.   Each  time  I  peruse  one  thor- 


HIS  AMBITIONS   IN  LITERATURE  5 

oughly  I  make  a  note  within  it,  with  the  time  of 
beginning  and  the  time  of  ending  set  down. 

"This  is  one  of  the  classics  no  part  of  which  I 
have  yet  attempted  to  memorise ;  but  the^  e  are  many 
beautiful  passages,  and  the  record  tells  of  such 
lovely  and  heroic  women  that  it  is  most  interesting. 
The  story  of  Wha-Mou-Loh  is  most  fascinating, 
and  already  I  have  begun  some  stanzas  to  her 
memory." 

''January  28.  —  My  people  are  bringing  the 
matter  of  my  marriage  too  earnestly  before  me. 
This  is  true  more  particularly  of  my  uncle,  quite 
more  so  than  my  father,  for  they  are  together  in 
arranging  a  matrimonial  alliance  for  me  with  a 
Sweet  Blossom  of  Hoh-fei.  The  young  woman  is 
exceedingly  virtuous,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to 
learn,  and  my  mother  vouches  for  her  good  in  all 
things.  And  in  her  personal  appearance  there  is 
everything  to  entice  a  young  man  who  might  have 
any  desires  for  matrimony  in  his  head.  But  an 
ancient  saying  is,  'Take  a  blossom  early  and  some 
of  the  fruit  of  your  life-tree  is  gone,'  and  it  has 
impressed  me  greatly  with  its  truth. 

"It  is  not  that  I  do  not  want  this  sweet  maiden 
of  respectable  family.  Her  family  is  equal  to  ours 
in  wealth  and  standing,  but  I  am,  as  yet,  not  in  a 
position  to  justify  the  beginning  of  a  family  —  re- 
gardless of  what  my  uncle  may  say,  or  of  my  pro- 
spective patrimony. 


6  MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"  I  do  not  know,  of  course;  but  I  am  of  the  belief 
that  my  life  will  be  a  long  one,  and  that  sufficient 
opportunity  will  be  given  me  to  raise  up  fruit  that 
will  honour  my  memory.  It  is  holy  and  right  that 
one  should  beget  many  sons  to  love  his  memory  and 
make  great  his  grave,  and  on  no  account  will  I 
oppose  the  law  and  the  religion. 

"...  My  good  chum,  Ah  Fing,  called,  and  we 
had  a  long  and  serious  conversation.  He  tells  me 
that  his  most  severe  parent  desires  that  he  take  as 
wife  the  child-daughter  of  the  law-aunt  at  Po  — 
that  he  has  never  seen  her,  does  not  wish  to,  and  will 
soon  start  for  the  south. 

"Ah  Fing  is  a  good  young  man,  and  full  of  indus- 
try and  straight  habits.  He,  too,  believes  he  will 
follow  the  calling  of  literature,  and  he  brought 
several  long  scrolls  of  romances  which  he  has 
written  since  our  days  together  when  both  were 
studying  for  the  chu-jen  [promoted  scholar]  degree. 
I  could  not  hurt  him  so  much  as  to  tell  him  that  while 
his  romances  seemed  most  interesting  his  language 
was  too  plain,  and  like  the  speech  of  the  street  people. 
I  did,  though,  criticise  his  manuscript,  for  he  writes 
a  tsao  tsz  style  [a  sort  of  abbreviated  character 
writing],  and  even  that  is  homely  and  without  grace. 
He  was  slightly  put  out,  I  fancy,  when  I  exhibited 
to  him  some  of  my  compositions  in  the  best  hing-shu, 
^  with  elaborate  ornament  work  and  dainty  colours  in 
the  high  and  left  corners. 

"It  has  always  been  my  idea  that  carelessness 


HIS  AMBITIONS   IN  LITERATURE         7 

in  any  branch  of  art  or  work  or  even  thought  is  bad. 
Perhaps  it  is  egotistical  for  me  to  write  in  my  own 
book  this  way  about  myself;  but  many,  yes,  thou- 
sands of  men  before  me,  have  thus  kept  records  of 
their  lives,  and  have  not  hesitated  to  express  their 
thoughts;  and  it  is  good  to  write  down  what  one 
thinks.  But  Ah  Fing's  careless  ways,  together  with 
the  fact  that  he  has  no  ink  in  his  stomach  [i.e.,  no 
literary  ability],  make  it  appear  to  me  that  he  will 
make  but  a  precarious  living  with  his  pen.  I  did  not 
tell  him  so;  for  so  many  unkind  things  have  been 
said  to  me,  and  they  have  cut  so  deeply,  that  it  is 
not  my  purpose  to  make  light  of  the  attempts  of 
others,  nor  to  discourage  them  in  their  honest  am- 
bitions. 

"But  I  hope  that  I  shall  never  grow  so  careless 
as  poor  brother  Ah  Fing.  Ah !  if  I  had  failed  to  pass 
the  chu-jen,  as  he  did  —  he  even  failed  thrice  in 
the  Budding  Genius  examinations  —  I  would  have 
hidden  my  body  in  the  hills  or  let  it  float  in  the 
river ! ' ' 

^^  March  19.  —  There  is  bounding  happiness  in 
my  inmost  heart  to-day,  for  I  have  been  given  a 
regular  place  in  the  office  of  the  chi-fu  [head]  of  the 
prefecture,  and  I  know  that  my  start  on  the  right 
way  to  political  progress  has  been  made! 

"My  noble  and  severe  parent  also  rejoices,  and 
my  mild  mother  is  happy  beyond  compare.  I  do 
not  know  how  my  uncle  feels,  or  whether  he  has  yet 


8  MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

learned  the  glad  tidings;  but  he  will  soon  know,  for 
my  father  has  gone  in  his  chair  to  tell  him,  and  to 
invite  him  to  a  feast  we  will  enjoy  to-morrow. 

"Perhaps  I  shall  marry  now.  The  Sweet  Blossom 
wants  me,  according  to  what  she  has  told  the  go- 
between,  and  also  what  her  mother  has  said  to 
mine." 

^^  Late.  Between  the  days.  —  It  has  been  impossible 
for  me  to  close  an  eye  and  keep  it  closed,  so  good 
do  my  spirits  feel  over  the  fortunate  tidings.  Even 
my  uncle,  in  his  home  on  the  Hong  road,  heard  the 
news  before  my  father  had  arrived,  and  had  started 
for  our  house  with  two  fat  geese  and  a  fish.  They 
missed  each  other  on  the  way,  for  father  went  on  the 
highroad  by  the  fruit  wall,  while  uncle  took  the 
main  Hong  road  direct  to  the  yamen  of  the  fu  in 
order  to  thank  the  latter  and  leave  a  present. 

"  Uncle  is  claiming  that  my  good  fortune  is  largely 
due  to  him,  owing  to  his  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  fu.  He,  himself,  was  a  collector  of  liken  for  a 
number  of  years. 

"Of  course  I  did  not  dispute  my  uncle,  but 
thanked  him  generously  and  upon  my  knees.  Yet 
every  one  roundabout  knew  that  four  days  ago  the 
hein-kwan  [district  magistrate],  the  honourable 
Pi-wang,  sent  for  me,  and  spake  the  most  encour- 
aging words  I  have  heard  for  many  moons:  — 

"'Do  you  remember,  Li,  when  you  stole  my 
goslings  from  the  Splendid  Water  Lake?' 


HIS  AMBITIONS   IN  LITERATURE  9 

"I  told  him  that  I  remembered  it  well,  though 
the  wrong  happened  many  years  ago. 

" '  Do  you  remember  the  time  you  cast  the  cobble 
and  nearly  killed  the  little  daughter  of  Wee,  the  one 
daughter  he  would  not  have  die  for  anything?' 

"I  told  him  my  memory  was  very  good  yet  very 
sorrowful  upon  that  affair.  And  I  explained,  as  I 
had  done  before,  that  I  was  fighting  with  the  Hop-e 
boy,  and  had  no  intention  of  hurting  the  little  girl. 

"'Well,  Li,'  continued  the  district  magistrate, 
'it  was  my  opinion  in  those  days  that  you  would 
some  day  come  to  a  ling-chi  death  [of  a  thousand 
slashes],  and  my  heart  was  made  glad  when  I  saw 
you  wince  under  the  blows  you  received  in  punish- 
ment for  those  offences,  and  your  father  was  in  like 
manner  pleased,  for  he  avowed  he  had  been  unable 
to  do  much  with  you  at  his  yamen. 

" '  But  of  late  years  your  conduct,  so  far  as  we  are 
aware,  has  been  exemplary,  and  in  your  studies  you 
have  outstripped  them  all.  Now,  then,  recite  for 
me  sixty  and  six  paragraphs,  commencing  at  the 
last,  of  the  'Spring  and  Autumn  Annuals.'" 

"How  pleased  I  was  that  he  had  selected  the  great 
work  which  I  could  write  off  from  beginning  to  end 
with  a  stick  in  the  red  sand.  I  recited  off  for  him  the 
sixty  and  six,  and  was  still  going  on  when  he  raised 
his  hand  and  stopped  me.  Then  it  was  that  he  told 
me  he  had  wanted  for  some  time  to  give  me  a  place 
in  the  hein-kwan  office,  but  he  knew  it  was  my 
father's  desire  that  I  start  with  the  fu. 


10         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"Then,  after  I  had  thanked  him  with  all  my 
heart,  both  because  he  had  forgiven  my  early 
wrongs  —  though  stone-casting  was  not  so  to  my 
discredit  —  and  had  interceded  for  me  with  the 
chi-fu,  I  came  away,  my  soul  magnified  to  the 
heavens.  I  knew  the  hien  to  be  a  most  upright  and 
open-hearted  man,  who  very  often  spoke  the  truth, 
and  I  did  not  doubt  at  all  but  that  the  chi-fu  would 
send  for  me  with  very  little  delay. 

"And  there  has  been  great  rejoicing  at  our  house 
since  I  returned  home,  —  so  much  so  in  my  own  case 
that  I  have  been  unable  to  sleep,  and  I  am  afraid 
my  face  looks  like  that  of  a  man  given  to  drugs.  But 
all  will  be  well  after  to-morrow,  for  I  shall  feast  well 
and  read  some  of  my  poetry  to  the  assembled  guests. 
I  sent  word  to  Ah  Fing  to  come,  but  my  mother  has 
often  scolded  him  when  he  has  visited  here,  and  he 
may  not  think  he  is  welcome  unless  he  brings  a 
parcel  of  rice,  which  is  impossible  with  the  poor 
fellow;  for  at  his  home  they  believe  themselves 
fortunate  if  they  have  meat  twice  during  the  winter, 
and  maize-meal  and  vegetables  the  rest  of  the  time." 

Whether  the  youthful  enthusiast  and  office-holder 
ever  wrote  an  account  of  that  feast  is  not  known, 
but  among  the  six  hundred  or  more  manuscripts  of 
his  which  were  and  are  at  present  in  the  possession 
of  a  grand-nephew  at  Nanking,  and  which  were 
courteously  submitted  for  the  purposes  of  these 
translations,  is  a  lengthy  poem  descriptive  of  such 


HIS  AMBITIONS   IN  LITERATURE        ii 

an  affair  as  he  here  tells  us  was  about  to  occur. 
Indeed  the  subject-matter  and  treatment  are  such 
that  there  can  be  little  if  any  doubt  but  that  the 
poem  relates  to  the  ver>'  occasion  in  question. 

The  poem  in  toto  is  rather  too  lengthy  for  reproduc- 
tion here,  and  particularly  as  the  latter  portions  of  it 
are  so  involved  in  thought  relating  to  the  realms  and 
times  of  the  most  ancient  of  the  Chinese  writers  that 
its  rendition  in  literal  English  is  very  difficult.  A 
number  of  the  stanzas,  however,  commencing  with 
the  fifth,  are  here  reproduced. 

AN   EARLY  REWARD  OF  GENIUS 

AND  THE  JOYOUS  FEAST  SENT  BY  THE  GOOD  GENII  TO 
THE  YOUTH  OF  GREAT  EXPECTATIONS 

No  questionings  do  mock  my  mind, 

That  the  good  genii  of  the  sky 
Will  favour  those  who  hold  quite  true 

To  all  the  rightful  things. 

These  words  I  say  because  in  recent  day 
Sweet  tidings,  like  water  of  the  stream, 

Have  flowed  into  my  heart  to  stay 
And  make  a  lake  of  gladness  there. 

I  sought  the  honours  of  the  school  and  literati, 

I  worked  at  morn,  and  midday  too, 
I  strove  when  other  students  shirked, 

Or  wasted  time  at  games. 

My  heart  did  burst  with  learning's  longing, 

Nothing  else  could  give  me  joy. 
I  memorised  and  worked  the  harder 

To  realise  my  fond  desire. 


12         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

The  clouds  in  glory  sent  their  rains 
To  water  seeds  of  thought  in  me: 

The  birds  sang  ever  sweet  refrains, 
Inspiring  me  to  con  sweet  words. 

Soon  I  became  a  Budding  Genius, 

And  then  another  rank  I  took. 
And  then  the  highest  flight  I  gained : 

Thus  I  reached  my  heart's  desire. 

But  when  the  hien-kwan  of  the  district 

Sent  for  me  to  seek  his  yamen, 
I  hastened  with  my  fears  excited  — 

How  happily  was  I  mistaken! 

O,  what  blessed  words  he  uttered !  — 
He  who  once  had  caused  me  pain  — 

Of  how  the  whole  hien  rejoiced, 
And  that  an  office  now  was  mine. 

Then  came  a  time  of  song  and  feasting  — 

Happy  feasting  in  my  home. 
With  father  proud,  and  friends  about  me, 

Eating,  drinking  —  rice  and  tea. 

Glad  and  merry  mandarins  feasting! 

Joy  within  my  heart  was  swelling, 
For  the  honour  that  they  showed  me, 

For  my  parent's  pride  in  me! 

Then  follow  those  parts  already  referred  to,  sc 
abstract  and  involved  in  thought  and  diction  that 
the  translators  were  unable  readily  to  render  them 
into  English;  and  which  appeared  as  a  successful 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  enthusiastic  young  writer 
to  go  beyond  his  depth. 


CHAPTER  II 

HIS   VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

If  all  the  writings  of  Li  Hung  Chang  were  to  be 
fully  translated,  and  the  parts  relating  to  the  various 
subjects  upon  which,  during  a  period  of  over  half 
a  century,  he  continued  to  express  his  views,  were  so 
segregated  that  his  written  comments  might  follow 
each  other  in  regular  and  chronological  order,  it  is  to 
be  doubted  if  a  more  entertaining  subject  than  that 
of  Christianity  could  be  selected. 

As  stated  in  the  Preface  of  this  volume,  it  has 
been  thought  desirable  to  make,  under  various 
headings,  such  selections  from  the  great  mass  of 
material  received  from  the  hands  of  the  translators 
as  would  be  in  consonance  with  the  chapter  or  part 
title,  thus  affording  the  reader  a  more  concrete  and 
at  the  same  time  comprehensive  view  of  the  subject 
treated  by  the  author.  Some  of  the  great  topics  are, 
however,  treated  at  such  length  in  many  entries  of 
his  diary,  or  in  other  papers  wholly  detached  from 
any  relationship  with  it,  that  the  matter  would  fill 
a  published  volume.  For  instance,  his  writings  con- 
cerning the  Empress  Dowager  and  the  Court  are 
estimated  by  competent  authorities  to  be  the  equiva- 
lent of  half  a  million  English  words.  On  the  ever 
recurring  subject  of  foreigners,  missionaries,  and 
Christianity,  —  he  regards  all  foreigners  as  Chris- 


14         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

tians,  if  not  all  Christians  as  foreigners,  —  the  Vice* 
roy  seemed  never  to  tire  of  writings  and  it  is  likely 
that  two  volumes  at  least  of  a  size  similar  to  this 
could  be  filled  with  the  transcriptions  of  such  manu- 
scripts. 

v^  The  following  selections,  therefore,  may  be  viewed 
as  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  large  number  of 
entries  in  his  memoirs;  yet  they  have  been  chosen 
with  such  discretion  as  to  justify  the  belief  that 
within  the  necessarily  confined  limits  they  indicate 
Li's  feelings  toward  "foreigners  and  their  religion" 
—  feelings  which  were  constantly  shifting  and  chang- 
ing —  during  a  period  of  over  fifty  years. 

The  first  mention  of  Christianity  in  his  writings 
is  found  to  have  been  made  while  he  was  looking  for 
his  doctorate  of  letters  at  the  Imperial  Han-lin  Col- 
lege, Peking,  in  1849:  — 

"I  think  it  would  be  a  noble  and  glorious  career, 
and  highly  pleasing  to  the  sacred  gods  and  to  my 
ancestors,  if  in  all  my  books  and  papers  I  were  to 
tell  the  people  the  truth  about  the  sacred  gods  and 
false  genii  of  the  foreign  devils.  I  could  easily  obtain 
the  information  which  would  show  up  these  impos- 
tors to  the  whole  people,  at  least  to  the  base  and 
ignorant  coolies  of  the  south,  who,  I  hear,  are  listen- 
ing to  the  sacrilegious  utterances  of  the  black-robed 
Individuals. 

"These  foreign  devils  come  to  the  country  for 
no  good  to  it.  They  preach  and  talk  in  loud  voices, 
and  hold  up  their  hands,  and  pretend  that  they 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  15 

come  for  the  people's  benefit;  but  I  hear  that  each 
and  every  one  of  them  is  a  paid  agent  of  some  for- 
eign power,  and  is  here  only  to  spy  upon  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

"I  hear  that  in  the  Far  West  for  many  years, 
altogether  by  far  too  many,  there  have  been  num- 
bers of  these  black-robes  teaching  their  nefarious 
doctrines,  and  uttering  defiance  to  the  Jade  Emperor 
and  all  the  gods.  These  black-robes  are  of  one  sect 
of  the  foreign  devils,  and  I  hear  there  are  many  sects, 
all  hating  each  other  and  all  preaching  for  the  same 
god  whom  they  call  the  Tien-fu  [Heavenly  Father]. 
If  they  have  such  a  father  he  cannot  be  proud  of  his 
sons,  for  they  are  unlearned  men  and  barbarians. 

"  It  is  a  part  of  their  teaching  that  the  Tien-fu  let 
his  son  come  on  earth  and  die  for  wicked  people. 
Such  teaching!  If  they  would  say  that  he  came  and 
died  for  the  good  people  it  would  sound  sensible, 
even  if  the  rest  of  their  doctrines  are  too  absurd  for 
a  man  with  brains  to  give  a  serious  thought  to.  If  the 
gods  are  good  and  want  men  to  be  good  will  they 
allow  members  of  their  families  to  be  killed  like 
criminals  for  the  sake  of  criminals?  It  has  been  long 
intimated  that  most  of  these  foreign  devils  are 
crazy,  and  I  am  beginning  to  believe  it.  But  it  is 
strange  that  they  should  be  able  to  draw  any  of  our 
people  away  from  the  old  religion  and  old  philosophy. 
I  cannot  understand  how  it  is,  but  I  am  sure  this 
crazy  fad  will  die  out." 


i6         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

Again,  in  1849,  he  wrote:  "Dr.  Quong  tells  me 
that  he  has  heard  several  of  these  foreign  devils 
preach  their  insane  doctrine  in  Honan.  These  were 
of  that  sect  that  hails  from  the  country  of  the  French, 
and  are  called  the  Tien-chu  kiao  [Roman  Catholics]. 
These  persistent  demons  have  been  over  a  century 
in  the  country,  and  they  even  grow  queues,  not  only 
to  fool  the  people  but  to  try  to  fool  the  gods !  They 
want  to  make  believe  they  are  Chinese,  yet  at  the 
same  time  they  would  make  fun  of  the  religion  of  the 
people. 

"These  fanatics  have  some  very  queer  ideas  of 
their  own.  They  say  that  more  greatly  to  honour 
their  god  they  abstain  from  having  wives,  not  even 
one  wife;  and  yet  they  urge  the  people  to  marry 
young,  and  to  let  all  their  children,  girls  as  well, 
grow  up.  What  kind  of  teaching  is  this?  These  fel- 
lows will  die,  and  leave  no  one  to  mourn  for  them 
nor  attend  their  graves.  But  I  am  wondering  if  none 
of  this  sect  marry  where  their  new  preachers  will 
come  from.  Perhaps  they  expect  their  fool  converts 
to  select  preachers  from  their  number  that  will  not 
marry.  And  maybe  they  are  right  and  will  thus 
succeed,  for  when  people  are  so  twisted  in  their 
heads  as  to  believe  what  these  black-robes  say,  they 
may  be  ready  to  do  as  they  do. 

"Dr.  Quong  has  once  before  written  the  Censors 
to  memorialise  the  Throne  for  the  extinction  of  the 
black-robes  in  the  West,  but  the  Chief  Censor  wrote 
in  return  that  the  Throne  would  not  dignify  the 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  17 

foreign  sect  by  taking  notice  of  it.  Besides,  it  has 
been  learned  that  the  land  of  the  French  is  a  very 
strong  kingdom  far  to  the  other  end  of  Asia,  and 
that  these  black-robes  are  all  officers  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Still,  it  is  reported  that  they  live  off  the 
people,  and  yet  do  not  have  yamens  or  fine  houses. 
And  their  temples  are  great  buildings,  square  and 
ill-looking,  but  well  built." 

The  author  does  not  appear  to  have  written  much 
concerning  the  Christians  during  the  next  few  years, 
but  his  vigour  and  apparent  hatred,  as  shown  by  a 
lengthy  entry  in  his  diary,  made  in  1854,  rather 
make  up  for  the  seeming  delinquency.  He  is  again 
in  central  China,  holding  office;  and  the  Taiping 
rebels,  calling  themselves  Christians,  —  without  at 
all  knowing  the  meaning  of  the  term  nor  practising 
in  even  the  remotest  degree  its  teachings,  —  are 
marching  through  the  central  coast  provinces  with 
fire  and  sword. 

"Why  do  not  all  our  people  rise  together  and  drive 
these  enemies  from  the  country?  I  did  not  think  the 
ideas  of  the  cursed  foreigners  would  ever  take  hold 
of  a  large  number,  but  it  appears  that  in  the  south 
there  are  thousands  and  thousands  of  mongrels  who 
are  willing  to  follow  the  smell  of  this  Hung  Siu-tsuen 
dog,  who  has  imbibed  the  bold  doctrines  of  the  other 
nations.  Not  only  are  they  devastating  the  whole 
country,  but  they  are  forcing  their  beliefs  upon  the 
people  everywhere.   And,  if  reports  are  true,  thou- 


I8         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

sands  more  of  the  fanatics  are  preparing  to  come 
from  Canton  and  the  regions  to  the  north. 

"I  have  learned  from  good  reports  that  in  Nan- 
king the  Long-Haired  Rebels  have  cut  the  heads  off 
of  many  hundreds,  and  the  ears  of  ten  thousand 
who  did  not  join  at  once  in  their  vile  beliefs.  And 
this  is  the  manner  of  acting  of  the  members  of  the 
Association  for  the  Worship  of  God  (Shangti  hwui), 
who  are  presuming  to  call  this  country  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  (Tien  Kwoh). 

''I  do  not  think  the  authorities  are  half  severe 
enough  with  these  fanatics,  and  it  is  very  wrong 
to  take  any  of  them  into  the  Imperialistic  forces 
when  they  surrender  and  declare  repentance.  They 
do  not  repent,  the  hounds !  They  are  rats  of  disease 
caught  from  the  leprous  missionaries  of  Canton,  and 
they  would  run  into  all  the  holes  of  the  centre  and 
north  and  spread  their  vile  malady.  The  lingering 
death  should  be  applied  to  all  those  who  have  coun- 
tenanced this  foreign  doctrine,  or  in  any  way  aided 
the  marauders,  though  they  may  not  have  marched 
with  them.  If  my  own  arms  were  not  so  lame  during 
this  season  from  rheumatism  and  other  ailments  of 
the  blood,  which  I  hope  will  soon  pass,  nothing  could 
please  me  better  than  to  take  a  place  as  executioner 
of  the  vermin.  As  it  is,  I  am  doing  my  share;  for  to 
help  collect  moneys  for  the  support  of  our  patriotic 
soldiers  is  in  itself  a  great  task,  especially  as  the 
fertile  fields  have  been  so  largely  destroyed  by  these 
marauders." 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  19 

About  this  time  Li  wrote :  — 

It  is  truly  the  greatest  sacred  duty 

Of  all  patriotic  sons  of  the  Middle  Kingdom, 

And  all  who  bow  to  the  mighty  Throne,  — 

The  glorious  seat  of  ten  thousand  years,  — 

To  strike  to  the  black  heart 

The  Long-Haired  bandits; 

And  to  let  out  their  vitals  upon  the  earth, 

That  the  swine  of  our  gutters 

And  the  fowls  of  the  barnyards 

And  the  mongrel  curs  of  the  alleys 

UVIay  lick  up  their  blood  and  gnaw  their  bones. 

These  fierce  Long-Hairs  are  wild  in  their  heads. 

They  have  crazy  notions  of  Heaven. 

They  have  a  new  god 

And  his  Elder  Brother 

Whom  they  follow  to  deeds  of  darkness. 

They  have  forsaken  all  our  sacred  gods, 

And  spat  upon  the  images, 

And  upon  the  graves  of  our  ancestors. 

They  are  dogs  of  low  order. 

Devils  of  blackest  darkness, 

Lepers  of  the  foulest  ills, 

Serpents  with  marks  of  the  pox, 

Fowl  that  limp  with  gangrene! 

They  are  not  men  at  all  in  human  shape, 

Nor  in  their  minds  —  for  such  are  gone; 

Nor  in  their  new  speech, 

For  they  ape  the  tones  of  the  foreign  masters 

And  talk  loud,  like  barking  dogs  at  night. 

Let  them  be  given  no  quarter! 
It  is  a  great  work  and  blessing 
To  pluck  out  their  lying  tongues, 
To  burn  deep  the  sockets  of  their  eyes, 
To  rip  open  their  vile  bellies, 
To  rub  salt  into  many  cuts, 


20         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

To  trim  close  their  ears, 
To  draw  forth  the  nails, 


To  bury  deep  whilst  yet  alive. 

To  use  the  pole  upon  their  skulls. 

Oh !  all  patriotic  sons  of  the  Middle  Kingdom, 

Drive  these  rank  fiends 

Into  the  salty  sea. 

Or  make  their  rotting  bones 

Manure  the  land ! 

In  1865,  two  years  after  the  capture  of  Nanking 
and  the  complete  collapse  of  the  Taiping  Rebellion, 
Li  Hung  Chang  at  Suchau  (Soochow)  writes  as 
follows  \  — 

"It  is  always  well  for  a  man  to  give  continued 
and  serious  consideration  to  a  question  before  arriv- 
ing at  a  final  decision,  and  I  find  this  particularly 
true  with  relation  to  the  underlying  character  of  the 
Taiping  Rebellion.  During  the  most  of  those  long 
and  bitter  years  I  was  wholly  of  the  opinion  that 
the  foreigners  along  the  coast,  especially  at  Shanghai, 
Hong-Kong,  and  Canton,  were  in  a  very  large 
measure  responsible  for  the  outbreak  of  the  Long- 
Haired  Rebels,  but  I  am  now  forced  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  my  thoughts  and  opinions  were  very  wrong. 

"This  I  have  learned  in  a  number  of  ways,  mostly 
since  the  fall  of  Nanking.  Yet  I  remember  that  upon 
at  least  one  occasion  General  Gordon,  who  was 
my  lieutenant-commander  of  the  '  Ever  Victorious 
Army,'  tried  to  explain  to  me  the  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  Church ;  but  I  would  not  listen  in  patience, 
so  much  had  I  learned  to  hate  the  name.  Gordon  at 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  21 

that  time  would  have  me  beheve  that  none  of  the 
Christian  nations  were  in  sympathy  with  the  Long- 
Hairs;  and  he  offered  as  partial  proof  of  the  truth- 
fulness of  his  words  the  fact  that  his  own  nation, 
which  he  said  was  the  leading  Christian  country  of 
the  world,  w^as  at  that  very  time  lending  all  due  aid 
to  China  for  the  suppression  of  the  rebellion. 

"I  remember  Gordon's  words  very  well,  as  they 

were  translated  by ,  for  Gordon  himself  could 

not  speak  fully  in  our  language.  But  it  so  happened 
that  this  was  about  the  time  that  General  Ching 
accused  Gordon,  to  me,  of  being  in  communication 
with  the  Wangs  of  the  Taipings,  and  for  a  greater  or 
shorter  period  I  did  not  know  whether  to  believe 
him  or  not.  Because  of  this  feeling  of  mine  —  which 
I  afterwards  learned  was  entirely  wrong,  and  a  very 
great  injustice  to  the  fine  loyalty  of  General  Gordon 
—  I  all  the  more  doubted  the  sincerity  of  his  words, 
and  believed  it  was  simply  a  case  of  one  Christian 
endeavouring  to  be  of  some  assistance  to  another. 

"  But  since  I  have  been  Governor,  and  since  peace 
has  given  time  for  many  things  which  for  a  number 
of  years  I  could  not  enjoy,  I  have  taken  opportunity 
to  inquire  diligently  into  the  training  and  so-called 
inspiration  of  Hung  Siu-tsuen,  with  the  result  that 
I  have  ascertained  that  the  leader  of  the  Taipings 
was  as  far  from  being  a  Christian  as  I  from  a  Tartar, 
and  that  neither  he  nor  his  followers  had  any  con- 
ception of  how  the  Western  Church  members  live 
in  peace  or  fight  in  war.    I  have  even  seen  the 


22         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

brother  of  the  foreign  devil  missionary,  who  gave 
Siu-tsuen  his  first  lessons,  and  he  has  told  me  that 
his  reverend  brother  gave  no  encouragement  to 
Siu-tsuen  or  any  of  his  followers  to  make  a  study  of 
the  Christian  books. 

"Yet,  it  was  the  loud  words  of  these  Long-Hairs 
that  gave  us  the  strongest  impression,  and  that  at 
the  same  time  brought  them  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  followers  in  the  four  provinces.  In  all  their 
marches,  pillages,  and  battles  they  called  upon  the 
name  of  the  foreign  devils'  god  to  give  them  victory 
and  to  send  them  many  new  recruits.  And  they  had 
such  great  success  in  the  early  years,  and  so  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  believed  in  the  divine  appoint- 
ment of  the  leader,  that  I  myself  began  to  believe 
that  they  were  real  Christians  as  they  claimed,  and 
that  their  so-called  Heavenly  Father  and  his  Elder 
Brother  [God  and  Jesus  Christ]  were  giving  them  aid 
and  encouragement.  It  was  difficult  for  me  to  believe 
that  our  own  gods  and  good  genii  had  forsaken  the 
religion  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  and  departed  from 
their  guardianship  of  the  Throne;  but  with  the 
continued  success  of  the  rebels  I  began  myself  to 
lose  some  little  part  of  my  former  faith,  and  even 
to  question  whether  our  illustrious  ancestors  were 
still  in  love  with  the  people  who  worshipped  them. 
Thus  it  was  that  from  day  to  day,  especially  in  those 
terrible  years  when  the  Long-Hairs  were  sweeping 
all  before  them  and  assembling  armies  that  were 
larger  by  far  than  any  of  those  which  the  Imperial 


HIS  VIEWS  OF   CHRISTIANITY  23 

Government  might  master,  I  hated  the  foreign 
rehgion  more  violently  than  all  other  scourges  in  the 
world ;  and  I  prayed  and  hoped  that  not  alone  would 
the  Taipings  be  destroyed,  but  that  earthquakes, 
eruptions  of  mountains,  and  terrible  fevers  would 
make  the  Christian  nations  without  a  man,  a  woman, 
or  a  child. 

"  But  I  have  learned  many  things  by  studying  this 
matter.  First  of  all  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  not  best  for  a  man  to  pronounce  hurried 
judgments  upon  matters  to  which  he  has  not  given 
diligent  and  continuing  examination.  It  is  well  for  a 
man  to  forget  many  things,  and  when  he  seeks  a  clear 
and  unbiassed  opinion  upon  some  certain  matter, 
to  begin  to  look  at  it  as  if  he  knew  nothing  at  all 
before.  Then  when  facts  and  theories  are  presented 
to  his  mind  —  it  is  better  to  have  facts,  for  theories 
change  with  the  sun  and  the  moon  —  he  may  stand 
them  up  like  culprits  before  a  magistrate,  pick  out 
the  good  and  the  substantial,  and  decapitate  the 
remaining  ones, 

"Since  my  present  office  began  I  have  had  more 
intercourse  with  foreigners  than  in  all  my  life  before, 
and  I  cannot  assert  truthfully  that  they  have  played 
greater  tricks  on  me  than  my  own  countrymen ;  but  ^ 
this  may  be  more  because  of  their  pride  than  their 
honesty,  for,  as  I  understand  it,  the  citizens  of  most 
of  these  European  nations  take  a  pretended  delight 
in  evincing  a  superiority  over  the  Asiatics,  and  are 
therefore  opposed  to  doing  many  things  when  they 


24         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

are  away  from  their  home  lands  which  they  would 
not  hesitate  at  all  to  do  in  the  places  of  their  birth. 

"In  this  I  do  not  see  any  true  moral  philosophy, 
but  rather  a  weakness  in  their  attempt  to  impress 
grandly  what  they  believe  to  be  weaker  nations. 
I  am  told  that  great  numbers  of  the  foreigners  along 
our  coasts,  especially  in  Shanghai,  Hong-Kong,  and 
Macao,  left  their  homes  because  they  owed  large 
sums  of  money,  and  either  could  not  pay  or  did  not 
care  to.  Yet  these  same  foreigners,  when  they  are 
residents  of  Asian  ports,  will  be  angry  with  their 
coolies  and  servants  if  they  are  not  on  hand  promptly 
to  receive  wages  due  them.  I  cannot  believe  they 
are  very  angry ;  at  least  if  they  are  it  is  entirely  sense- 
less, for,  if  the  man  who  has  performed  the  labour 
is  in  no  hurry  for  his  pa}',  does  it  cost  the  foreigner 
anything  to  hold  it  a  day  or  two  for  him?  If  held  two 
months  or  two  years,  is  not  the  interest  all  the  greater  ? 

"The  British  officials  from  Shanghai  have  im- 
pressed me  most  favourably  since  I  have  held  high 
office,  and  I  have  often  wished  that  I  might  be  able 
to  speak  their  language.  Some  of  them  converse 
very  well  in  Mandarin,  and  one  or  two  of  the  secre- 
taries write  it  very  well;  but  these  latter  are  those 
who  have  been  many  years  along  the  coast. 

"All  these  tell  me  that  the  Christian  people  in 
foreign  lands  were  rejoiced  that  the  Taipings  failed 
in  their  rebellion,  but  I  have  had  translations  made 
from  some  of  the  articles  in  the  English  press,  and  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  editors  were  themselves  going 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  25 

to  die  because  of  the  treatment  accorded  some  of  the 
Long-Hairs.  And  I  find  that  in  nearly  all  foreign 
quarters  I  am  severely  blamed  for  what  happened 
to  the  Wangs  at  Suchau,  and  am  called  a  'Yellow 
Barbarian'!  I  will  no  longer  attempt  to  answer 
these  outside  attacks:  all  I  will  say  is  that  I  did  not 
give  an  order  for  the  execution  of  the  Wangs,  but 
had  I  done  so  I  would  not  have  regretted  it  very 
sorely,  for  their  going  gave  the  greatest  pleasure  to 
the  Emperor  and  the  Empress  Dowager,  and  the 
country  was  well  served.  If  General  Gordon,  during 
any  of  his  visits  to  the  Taiping  leaders,  made  cer- 
tain promises  to  them,  he  was  exceeding  any  au- 
thority ever  given  him."  .  ^ 

Receiving  in  June,  1870,  word  from  Peking  that 
he  should  prepare  to  go  north  as  Commander  of  the 
Forces  and  Viceroy  of  Chihli  Province,  Li  wrote :  — 

"I  am  not  too  highly  pleased  with  this  new 
appointment,  for  I  am  quite  at  home  and  satisfied 
v/here  I  am;  but  in  the  Province  of  Chihli  there  are 
just  now  the  worst  elements  in  the  empire  so  far  as 
the  treatment  of  foreigners  is  concerned,  and  I  am 
happy  to  know  that  the  Throne  believes  my  hand 
strong  enough  to  cope  with  these  ruffians. 

''It  cannot  be  said,  even  by  my  worst  foes,  that 
I  have  been  a  bosom  friend  to  the  foreigner,  either 
the  man  that  comes  to  force  his  trade  upon  us,  or 
the  fellow  who  would  cram  his  religion  down  our 
throats.    Of  course  it  is  offensive  to  our  educated 


26         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

people  to  know  that  these  churchmen  are  sent  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  to  explain  to  us  the  nicest  way 
to  live  and  the  happiest  way  to  die,  but  the  entering 
wedge  was  inserted  many  years  ago,  and  it  is  now 
too  late  to  cry  out  against  what  we  once  permitted. 
We  opened  our  gates  and  the  goats  came  in,  and  now 
the  goatherds  insist  that  the  pasture  wherein  their 
hungry  flocks  have  so  long  grazed  shall  not  be  taken 
from  them. 

"Yet,  in  spite  of  all  our  dislikes,  if  we  truly  have 
the  best  interests  of  China  at  heart,  we  will  no  longer 
oppose  the  coming  of  the  foreigner,  whether  he  be 
trader,  missionary,  or  tourist;  for  he  is  bound  to  come 
anyway,  even  if  he  must  ride  behind  a  bayonet,  or 
sit  upon  the  big  gun  of  a  warship.  And  it  is  just  as 
well,  much  better  in  fact,  that  all  our  people  come 
to  a  realisation  of  this. 

"Just  now,  in  the  Province  of  Chihli,  there  is  a 
great  agitation  among  certain  classes  against  the 
French  priests  and  nuns;  and,  in  fact,  against  every 
agent  of  a  foreign  institution.  But  Their  Majesties 
desire  an  end  put  to  all  such  things,  and  I  feel  highly 
complimented  to  think  that  I  am  regarded  as  the 
proper  person  to  put  Their  Majesties'  desires  into 
efi'ect.  I  shall  spare  none  of  these  ruffians  and  hard- 
heads when  I  am  at  my  post;  and  if  the  foreign  ele- 
ment in  the  population,  whether  priests  or  harlots, 
missionaries  or  opium  fiends,  does  not  get  protection 
it  will  be  because  the  sword  and  the  bamboo  are 
worn  to  soft  places. 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  27 

"When  last  I  saw  Tseng-kofan  we  spent  several 
hours  in  full  discussion  of  this  great  problem  — 
a  problem  which,  unless  settled  in  the  right  way, 
will  be  as  a  dagger  ever  likely  at  a  moment's  notice 
to  be  thrust  into  the  body  of  the  nation.  Tseng- 
kofan,  like  myself,  has  changed  his  views  exceedingly 
in  the  past  five  or  six  years,  and  is  no  longer  a  hater 
of  the  Christians.  He  told  me  that  it  was  his  inten- 
tion some  of  these  days  to  memorialise  the  Throne 
to  issue  an  edict  of  complete  toleration  for  all  for- 
eigners of  whatever  profession  or  occupation,  and  I 
told  him  that  I  would  gladly  join  in  such  a  memorial 
if  he  would  so  desire." 

"June  13.  — Though  my  action  may  not  be  fully 
understood  I  am  writing  an  article  upon  the  rights 
of  foreigners  to  reside  in  China  and  prosecute  their 
own  affairs  without  insult  or  hindrance.  I  hope  to 
have  it  ready  to  present  to  General  Tseng-kofan, 
who  is  soon  to  have  an  audience  with  Her  Majesty, 
the  illustrious  old  Buddha,  w^hen  he  may  have  oppor- 
tunity to  leave  it  with  her  for  her  private  counsel. 
If  the  Court  will  give  sanction  I  will  have  many 
thousand  copies  printed  at  my  own  expense,  and 
circulated  in  every  province.  I  think  there  is 
scarcely  anything  I  could  do  at  the  present  time  that 
would  result  in  greater  good  to  both  foreigners  and 
Chinese." 

In  an  entry  made  some  weeks  later,  Li  mentions 


J 


28         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

that  his  memorial  on  behalf  of  foreigners  was  not 
completed,  "because  I  hope  soon  to  speak  directly 
with  Her  Majesty,  when  I  shall  seek  permission  to 
write  my  views  upon  this  all  important  matter." 

"  Viceroy's  Yamen,  Tientsin,  June  23.  — The  hell 
leaders  of  this  city,  following  out  their  own  cursed 
notions,  have  again  brought  China  into  disrepute 
with  the  whole  world,  and  humiliated  the  Throne; 
but  these  ignorant  fiends  who  incite  or  take  part  in 
outrages  must  not  think  that  they  will  escape  the 
penalty,  for  I  shall  see  to  it  that  every  miscreant 
who  had  aught  to  do  with  the  massacre  of  two  nights 
ago  will  get  his  just  dues." 

^^  June  24. — The  acting  French  Consul  called 
upon  me  early  to-day  presenting  a  note  from  the 
French  Minister  at  Peking,  asking  what  steps  I  was 
taking  to  apprehend  and  punish  the  participants 
in  the  outrages  upon  the  Consul,  the  Catholic  priests, 
nuns,  and  converts. 

"This  is  the  way  the  foreign  official  acts  in  China! 
An  English  trader's  shop  window  is  no  more  than 
broken  by  some  rowdies  than  the  Consul  or  the  Min- 
ister is  at  the  yamen  demanding  to  know  what  we 
are  going  to  do  about  it.  A  French  dandy  gets  into 
a  street  brawl  with  a  band  of  ignorant  coolies,  and 
before  the  officials  have  even  heard  that  such  an 
affair  took  place  the  Consul  or  Minister  is  shaking 
his  fist  at  the  Viceroy.  A  fat,  red-faced  German,  half 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  29 

full  of  stout  beer  and  smelling  of  cheese,  falls  into  a 
gutter  and  breaks  one  of  his  legs.  Passers-by  try  to 
help  him  to  his  feet,  and  he  thinks  they  are  going  to 
rob  him.  He  pulls  a  revolver  and  shoots  a  native, 
and  then  friends  of  the  latter  throw  stones  and  cut 
the  fat  German's  red  face.  Immediately  his  Consul 
or  his  Minister  is  knocking  loudly  at  the  door  of  the 
yamen  and  demanding  'satisfaction'  for  the  'insult 
offered  the  German  flag'! 

"Thus  it  is  in  China.  If  that  same  Englishman  or 
Frenchman  or  German  had  the  same  sort  of  trouble 
in  his  own  country  he  would  be  well  satisfied  if 
a  policeman  and  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  took  any 
notice  of  his  case;  but  in  China  he  expects  and 
demands  that  the  whole  machinery  of  his  Govern- 
ment be  invoked  to  bring  the  '  Yellow  Barbarian '  to 
terms ! 

"Of  course  I  do  not  mean  to  bring  up  these  cases 
in  comparison  with  the  present  vile  outrage ;  but  it 
is  an  injury  to  my  pride  to  think  that  the  French 
Minister  and  the  French  Consul  should  demand  to 
know  what  I  am  'going'  to  do  when  any  one  of 
any  intelligence  in  Tientsin  and  Peking,  themselves 
included,  knows  how  sternly  I  view  all  infractions  of 
the  law,  and  in  particular  outrages  against  foreigners. 

"I  said  to  the  French  official:  'You  will  please 
pardon  me,  Mr.  Consul,  but  if  you  will  inquire  at 
the  prison  you  will  find  what  I  have  already  done  in 
the  matter.  And  if  you  will  inquire  of  almost  any 
coolie  in  the  city  you  will  be  told  that  more  than 


30         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

three  thousand  soldiers  are  scouring  the  whole  of 
the  province  and  every  corner  and  hole  of  Tientsin 
to  bring  suspected  ones  before  the  authorities.' 

"The  Consul  in  one  way  was  greatly  pleased  with 
my  answer,  although  I  only  imparted  information 
such  as  was  already  in  his  possession ;  but  he  desired 
to  impress  me  with  the  importance  of  his  position  as 
representative  of  the  great  French  nation,  forgetting 
that  I  myself  am  the  virtual  ruler  of  as  many  people 
as  there  are  in  twenty  cities  like  Paris,  where  Mr. 
Consul  would  not  be  known  upon  the  streets." 

(No  date.)  —  "Having  fixed  the  time  for  the 
execution  of  the  ringleaders  in  the  massacre  I  have 
been  requested  by  both  the  French  and  Russian 
Ministers  to  postpone  the  decapitations.  They  are 
desirous  of  being  present  to  witness  the  show,  or, 
more  truly,  to  see  that  the  culprits  really  die  after 
their  heads  are  chopped  off. 

"This  is  another  disgusting  trait  of  the  foreigners, 
and  these  messages  of  to-day  have  caused  me  much 
annoyance.  Perhaps  they  think  that  in  all  my  words 
and  actions  against  such  outrages  I  am  only  looking 
for  effect,  whereas,  if  they  would  know  the  truth,  I 
am  more  anxious  to  see  such  vagabonds  put  out  of 
the  way  than  are  any  of  the  foreign  Government 
representatives  in  Peking  or  Tientsin.  It  is  not  only 
right  on  mere  grounds  of  revenge  or  satisfaction  for 
the  lives  of  the  men,  women,  and  children  taken, 
but  it  is  necessary  for  the  good  of  China  that  swift 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  31 

and  sure  punishment  be  meted  out  to  all  offenders. 
If  my  son  or  daughter  were  killed  in  Europe  or 
America  I  believe  the  authorities  would  see  to  it  that 
the  murderer  or  murderers  paid  the  penalty.  And 
it  will  be  so  here  in  Chihli  so  long  as  I  am  Vice- 
roy. 

"Of  course  most  of  our  people  think  that  a  Chinese 
young  woman  w^ho  would  wish  to  go  into  a  foreign 
nation  among  strangers  deserves  to  be  killed  by  a 
mob,  or  have  some  fatal  accident  befall  her;  but  the 
views  of  the  English  and  Americans  and  other  Chris- 
tian nations  are  very  different.  While  our  people 
think  the  putting  out  of  the  way  of  the  nuns  is  a 
benefit  to  the  latter  —  for  they  have  no  husbands, 
and  by  their  looks  do  not  eat  much  —  as  well  as  to 
the  world  at  large,  in  France,  as  the  Consul  says, 
these  women  are  looked  upon  as  great  and  holy 
saints  in  the  next  world.  And,  is  n't  this  strange?  — 
they  were  nothing  but  plain,  hard-working  women, 
looking  after  a  lot  of  children  (of  whom  it  is  a  pity 
they  did  not  die  in  infancy),  when  the  work  of  a  crazy 
band  of  fanatics  makes  holy  saints  and  immortal 
ancestors  of  them.  Yet,  for  this  great  transformation, 
as  I  understand  the  present  temper  of  that  nation, 
the  French  are  ready  to  send  a  fleet  and  an  army  to 
kill  as  many  thousand  Chinese  as  get  in  their  way. 
And  France  is  a  Christian  nation.  I  do  not  under- 
stand in  full  the  application  of  the  doctrines  they 
profess  to  believe,  nor  the  principles  they  announce 
themselves  willing  to  uphold." 


32         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

^^  July  21.  — Again  the  date  for  the  execution  of 
the  criminals  connected  with  the  massacre  of  the 
French  consular  officer  and  the  Christians  has  been 
postponed,  this  time  also  upon  request  of  the 
Russian  Minister.  Yet  the  Foreign  Office  is  continu- 
ally hearing  that  in  Paris  and  St.  Petersburg  the 
Governments  are  impatient  with  the  delay  in  bring- 
ing these  outragers  to  punishment.  What  does  all 
this  mean?  Are  Russia  and  France  looking  for  some 
excuse  to  make  war  upon  China? 

"It  has  been  brought  to  my  attention  by  one  of 
the  British  consular  officers  of  this  city  that  it  is 
very  probable  that  France  would  declare  war  upon 
us  if  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  she  is  just  now  very 
much  occupied  with  Germany.  I  do  not  know 
whether  to  believe  this  or  not,  but  I  understand  that 
the  same  report  has  reached  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen  at 
Peking  from  another  source.  If  this  is  so  it  is 
very  wrong  on  the  part  of  the  French,  for  the  rioters 
would  have  paid  the  penalty  of  their  crime  days 
ago  had  it  not  been  for  the  request  of  the  French 
Minister.  This  appears  strange,  and  not  at  all  as  it 
should  be. 

"The  Minister  has  himself  assured  me  that  he 
is  thoroughly  satisfied  with  my  attitude  in  the 
entire  matter,  but  in  the  same  breath  he  did  com- 
plain unofficially  of  what  he  terms  the  '  apathy  of 
the  Imperial  Government.'  I  explained  to  him  that 
neither  the  Throne,  the  Court,  nor  the  Government 
Departments  at  the  capital  had  anything  to  do  with 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  33 

the  punishment  of  the  outragers;  that  I  had  been 
given  a  wholly  free  hand  in  the  entire  matter,  and 
that  I  would  see  that  each  guilty  one  was  brought  to 
book  in  the  most  certain  and  summary  manner  if 
I  was  not  interfered  with  by  the  Legations.  I  asked 
the  Minister  himself  to  set  a  date  for  the  executions, 
but  he  declined  to  do  this." 

''July  25.  —  Lying  and  contemptuous  officials, 
I  believe,  are  often  at  the  bottom  of  these  riots 
against  foreigners.  In  the  past  I  have  been  willing 
to  believe  the  mandarins  as  a  general  thing  exerted 
themselves  vigorously  to  prevent  anti-foreign  out- 
breaks, but  upon  investigating  this  terrible  massa- 
cre of  a  foreign  official  and  so  many  church  workers, 
and  considering  facts  of  some  other  recent  outrages, 
I  am  convinced  that  shallow-minded  and  venial- 
hearted  district  and  prefectural  officers  are  largely 
to  blame. 

"I  know  that  by  so  doing  I  will  make  hundreds 
and  perhaps  thousands  of  enemies  throughout  the 
country;  but  at  my  next  audience  with  Her  Majesty 
I  am  going  to  urge  with  all  my  strength,  and  as  far 
as  I  dare  proceed,  that  an  edict  be  issued  to  the  effect 
that  fu  and  hein  officials  will  be  held  personally 
responsible,  in  life  and  property,  for  the  lives  and 
property  of  Christians.  If  this  is  done  there  will  be 
fewer  attacks  upon  missions,  and  the  missionaries 
will  be  allowed  to  pursue  their  vocations  without 
hindrance." 


34         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

''July  27.  —  General  Tseng-kofan  has  issued  a 
fine  statement  relieving  the  priests  and  nuns  of  any 
culpability  in  giving  cause  for  the  late  massacre. 
He  condemns  the  work  of  the  mad  rioters  in  the 
most  scathing  terms,  and  declares  that  the  Throne 
is  ever  against  such  action  on  the  part  of  its  subjects, 
and  is  desirous  of  having  the  most  condign  punish- 
ment inflicted. 

"I  am  happy  that  this  action  has  been  taken  by 
Tseng-kofan,  and  it  pleases  me  beyond  measure  to 
know  that  Their  Majesties  are  willing  to  uphold 
me  in  the  severe  measures  which  I  am  taking  to 
suppress  anti-Christian  lawlessness,  and  the  still 
more  drastic  action  I  am  ready  to  take  if  such 
appears  necessary. 

"It  is  my  intention  to  end  this  rioting  busi- 
ness in  the  Province  of  Chihli,  if  personally  I  must 
visit  the  magistrates  and  army  officials  at  Peking, 
Paoting-fu,  and  Tientsin  each  week  of  my  stay  in 
office.  The  whole  world  will  get  the  impression  that 
our  nation  is  indeed  one  of  'yellow  barbarians'  if 
these  inexcusable  and  terrible  affairs  continue.  I 
shall  certainly  memorialise  the  Throne  for  an  edict, 
and  at  the  same  time  I  will  make  of  my  province  a 
safe  place  in  which  foreign  merchants  and  mission- 
aries and  their  families  may  reside." 

''August  23.  —  My  heart  is  pierced  with  sorrow 
to-day  to  learn  of  the  dastardly  assassination  of 
General  Ma  Yu-k'un,  the  great  Viceroy  of  Nanking 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  35 

—  a  man  I  was  proud  to  call  friend.  It  is  too 
bad,  altogether  deplorable;  and  I  pray  the  fiendish 
assassins  will  not  only  be  made  to  pay  for  their  deed 
by  a  lingering  death,  but  that  the  spirits  of  the 
ancestors  will  rend  their  spirits  into  bits  as  small  as 
flashes  from  diamonds. 

"  Perhaps  some  of  my  enemies  will  regard  Viceroy 
Ma's  taking-off  as  a  lesson  to  me;  for  he  was  ever 
friendly  toward  the  foreigners  and  their  religion, 
and  it  was  because  of  this  feeling,  no  doubt,  that  he 
met  death  in  the  very  height  of  his  powers  and  use- 
fulness. Glorious  man!  —  he  paid  with  his  life  for 
the  liberality  of  his  mind  and  the  openness  of  his 
heart.  I  wonder  if  the  foreigners  will  really  appreci- 
ate the  sacrifice  of  this  life  in  their  behalf?  Time 
will  tell  us. 

"But  if  there  are  any  who  think  that  my  own 
actions,  much  less  my  thoughts  and  feelings,  will 
be  influenced  by  the  assassination  of  the  Nanking 
Viceroy  they  are  not  acquainted  with  Li  Hung 
Chang.  On  the  contrary,  the  wild  ruffians  of  Chihli 
will  be  dealt  with  more  rigorously  than  ever.  I  will 
drive  such  fisticuffs  and  murderers  out  of  my  vice- 
royalty  —  if  the  Court  does  not  interfere. 

"Glorious  Viceroy  Ma  Yu-k'un!  He  died  for 
China,  yet  as  a  Chinese  Martyr  to  the  God  of  the 
Westerners!" 

"August  25.  —  During  the  entire  night  I  dreamed 
only  of  the  dead  Nanking  Viceroy,  and  I  saw  his 


36         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

cold  body  in  the  hands  of  the  murderers.  I  do  not 
know  when  I  have  felt  so  ill  as  to-day.  I  shall  deny 
myself  even  to  the  agent  of  the  Russian  Minister, 
who  is  to  call." 

^'September  4. — The  Grand  Council  has  asked 
me  if  the  number  of  rioters  awaiting  execution  for 
the  massacre  cannot  be  reduced  somewhat.  This 
interference  is  as  bad  or  even  worse  than  that  exer- 
cised by  the  Legations.  I  have  answered  that  I  see 
no  way  of  exculpating  any  of  the  prisoners,  but  rather 
that  I  am  straining  every  effort  to  increase  their 
number.  It  would  be  well  for  the  Grand  Council 
and  the  other  high  officials  to  be  busying  themselves 
regarding  the  payment  of  the  indemnity  that  is 
demanded,  and  leave  to  me  the  details  of  dealing 
with  these  hardened  rascals." 

^^  September  5.  —  I  have  pardoned  one  of  the  nine- 
teen condemned  to  death.  He  is  a  low  creature,  and 
would  be  happier  and  better  in  the  ground  than  on 
top  of  it.  But  I  permitted  him  to  tell  his  story  again 
this  morning,  having  him  brought  into  my  presence 
accompanied  by  one  of  the  French  priests,  who, 
luckily  for  himself,  was  at  Tung-Chow  at  the  time 
of  the  Tientsin  outbreak.  The  low  creature  explained 
that  he  had  been  employed  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy 
about  the  Orphanage,  and  that  instead  of  being  a 
part  of  the  original  mob  he  himself  was  threatened 
with  death  if  he  did  not  take  a  hand  in  the  mad  and 
fiendish  work. 


HIS  VIEWS  OF   CHRISTIANITY  37 

'"Did  you  murder  or  burn?'  I  asked  him. 

"*No,  Your  Excellency,  I  did  not;  I  made  my 
escape  as  soon  as  I  could,  and  then  went  to  my  home 
in  the  old  city  as  quickly  as  possible.' 

"'Are  you  a  convert  to  Christianity?'  I  ques- 
tioned. 

'"Oh,  no,  Your  Excellency,  never,  never!' 

"When  he  made  this  answer  the  priest  looked  at 
the  fellow  reproachfully,  and  told  him  that  he  knew 
he  was  lying,  and  that  instead  of  denying  his  faith 
he  should  be  willing  to  die  for  it.  Then  the  low  crea- 
ture, ashamed  of  himself,  told  me  that  he  really  was 
a  convert. 

'"Well,  it  is  good  for  you  that  you  have  acknowl- 
edged it,'  I  told  him,  'for  I  would  not  want  to  be 
accused  of  executing  a  Christian  —  even  a  worthless 
cur  like  yourself.  I  will,  therefore,  excuse  you  from 
decapitation;  but  you  are  sentenced  to  eternal 
banishment  from  this  Middle  Kingdom  and  its  outer 
provinces.  I  hope  you  will  seek  a  home  in  some 
Christian  country,  and  that  the  Christians,  as  I 
doubt  not  they  will,  will  find  without  delay  a  reason 
for  killing  you.' 

"The  low  fellow  then  begged  that  the  original 
sentence  be  carried  out,  and  the  priest  said  he  did 
not  much  care.  But  I  sent  the  liar  and  coward  away, 
with  an  order  that  he  be  exiled  from  the  whole  coast. 
Such  mendacious  creatures  as  he  would  have  a 
monster  lie  in  his  throat  at  the  time  of  the  falling 
of  the  sword,  and  the  edge  of  the  instrument  would 


38         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

be  dulled  to  a  greater  damage  than  his  carcass  would 
be  worth." 


On  September  i6  the  Viceroy  of  Chihli  wrote  his 
last  comment  upon  the  massacre  which  for  many 
months  threatened  to  bring  on  a  war  between 
France  and  China,  but  regarding  the  satisfactory 
settlement  of  which  the  French  Government  made 
an  announcement  before  the  end  of  the  year  —  a 
"Christmas  present  of  peace,"  as  the  Republic's 
Minister  expressed  it. 

Viceroy  Li  wrote:  "Christian  ministers,  priests, 
and  Sisters  of  Mercy  preach  peace  and  good  will, 
and  by  their  lives  and  works  among  the  people 
indicate  that  they  are  honest  in  their  intentions, 
and  would  show  good  example  to  their  converts. 
But  they  have  one  great  fault:  it  is  unknown  that 
they  ever  appeal  directly  to  the  local  authorities 
when  affairs  do  not  go  in  a  manner  to  please  them. 
In  the  smaller  villages  they  do  not  think  of  going  to 
the  head  man  of  the  place  with  their  troubles,  nor 
to  the  hein-kwan,  nor  the  fu,  nor  the  Governor,  nor 
the  Viceroy.  But  always  they  would  air  their  griev- 
ances to  the  Consul,  and  the  Consul  to  the  Minister. 
This  latter  official  —  and  I  say  it  with  all  personal 
and  official  respect,  for  the  Ministers  are  usually 
men  of  high  standards  —  cables  the  trouble  to  his 
own  Government  oftentimes  before  bringing  the  mat- 
ter to  the  attention  of  ours.  Thus  it  is  that  the 
journals  in  foreign  parts  publish  the  news  of  the 


HIS  VIEWS  OF   CHRISTIANITY  39 

latest  "Chinese  outrage  upon  Christians,"  and  the 
people  are  ready  to  believe  that  our  entire  nation  is 
in  arms  against  the  foreigner.  Two  or  three  ruffians, 
or  half  a  hundred  crazed  fanatics  who  consider 
themselves  patriots  —  damn  them !  —  give  a  bad 
name  to  the  whole  empire,  from  the  Throne  to  the 
coolies. 

"I  am  weary  advising  the  missionaries  as  to  the 
best  course  to  pursue  in  the  event  of  trouble  of  what- 
ever nature  that  concerns  their  lives  and  the  prose- 
cution of  their  labours;  yet  it  is  simply  and  solely 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  local  officials,  and  to 
have  faith  that  the  latter  will  accord  full  protection 
against  violence.  If  they  have  good  reason  to  doubt 
the  sincerity  or  reliability  of  the  local  mandarins,  or 
the  fu  or  hein  magistrates,  they  should  put  them- 
selves directly  under  the  care  of  the  Governor  or 
Viceroy.  These  latter  may  not  love  or  admire  the 
missionary  and  his  work  to  any  greater  extent  than 
does  the  fu  or  the  hein,  but  they  have  more  at  stake 
in  the  losing  of  their  positions,  and  are  generally 
men  of  greater  intelligence,  broadmindedness,  and 
wealth. 

"But  to-day  I  personally  witnessed  the  paying  of 
a  debt  in  blood  for  the  Orphanage  massacre  and  the 
killing  of  the  French  consular  officer,  and  I  am 
pleased  that  this  miserable  chapter  has  been 
brought  to  a  close.  The  foreign  Governments  were 
all  represented  at  the  scene,  and  I  trust  they  are 
satisfied.   Sixteen  heads  were  lopped  off.   The  other 


40         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

thirty-three  culprits  were  started  upon  their  journeys 
into  exile. 

"I  asked  the  French  Minister  If  he  was  satisfied. 

'"Yes,  perfectly,'  he  answered.  'And  how  about 
Your  Excellency? ' 

"I  told  him  that  in  a  sense  I  was  quite  pleased, 
but  that  there  were  still  many  '  rough  necks '  in  the 
province  which  needed  a  shaving  by  the  'heavy 
razor.*  I  was  thinking  also  of  General  Ma  when  I 
spoke." 

On  February  17,  1886,  this  entry  is  found:  — 

"  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  the  Christian 
religion  is  not  so  much  hated  in  itself,  but  that  the 
animosity  which  is  found  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent 
throughout  China  against  the  'foreign  devils'  is 
because  they  are  'foreign.' 

"  During  several  years  I  have  given  quite  careful 
study  and  thought  to  the  religion  of  the  West,  and 
I  cannot  see  that  it  is  in  conflict  at  all  with  our 
own  philosophy.  On  the  contrary,  the  teachings  of 
Confucius  and  the  doctrines  of  Jesus  appear  to  be  on 
one  exalted  plane,  conceived  and  promulgated  for  the 
betterment  of  all  mankind, '  heathen  '  and  Christian. 
I  know  this:  that  if  my  lot  in  life  were  cast  in  Eng- 
land, France,  or  America  I  should  want  to  call  my- 
self a  Christian,  for  that  is  the  religion  of  those 
countries;  and  a  man  who  would  order  his  life  by  its 
tenets  would  keep  out  of  trouble  and  be  respected. 
He  would  not  think  of  Confucius,  because  he  would 
have  no  need  for  him  or  his  teachings.  And  it  is  the 


HIS  VIEWS  OF  CHRISTIANITY  41 

same  way,  reversed,  in  China:  I  have  no  need  for 
Christ  if  I  will  but  follow  our  own  great  sage  and 
philosopher.  But  simply  because  I  feel  no  personal 
call  for  the  Christian  religion  I  will  not  therefore 
oppose  it,  since  I  believe  that  there  are  thousands, 
perhaps  millions,  in  China  who  would  be  somewhat 
benefited  by  a  knowledge  of  Jesus,  especially  as  they 
trouble  themselves  not  at  all  to  follow  in  the  ways 
directed  by  Confucius. 

"Therefore  I  would  sum  up  the  feelings  of  the 
more  intelligent  officials  and  literati  to-day  —  for 
my  own  sentiments  appear  to  be  largely  shared  by 
this  class  in  all  the  Eastern  provinces  from  Canton 
to  the  Northern  Capital  —  it  is  the  foreigner  who 
is  disliked,  not  because  of  his  religion,  but  because 
he  is  otherwise  feared.  He  is  feared  not  at  all  in  this 
year  because  he  may  be  the  agent  of  Jesus  Christ  or 
a  follower  of  that  great  man,  but  as  a  possible  enemy 
to  the  political  and  industrial  independence  of  the 
country. 

"That  this  conclusion  is  correct  I  know  from  this 
one  fact,  regardless  of  any  others:  the  Japanese  are 
the  most  despised  of  all  the  foreigners,  yet  we  Chinese 
know  that  they  are  not  Christians,  nor  have  they 
any  of  the  good  traits  of  the  Christian  nations, 
government,  or  people.  Quite  the  contrary.  The 
Japanese  are  very  much  like  ourselves  in  matters  of 
religion,  philosophy,  and  ethics,  yet  we  hate  them 
and  they  despise  us.  Though  they  received  all  they 
have  in  arts,  literature,  and  science  from  China, 


42         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

they  pretend  to  be  much  better  than  we;  and,  instead 
of  thanking  China  for  all  she  has  done  for  them,  they 
would  pluck  her  feathers  from  neck  to  tail,  and,  if 
opportunity  offered,  run  off  with  the  whole  bird. 

"Knowing  these  things  and  thinking  of  them  as 
I  do,  and  fully  appreciating  what  the  Christian 
nations  did  for  us  in  a  late  emergency,  I  cannot  say 
that  I  am  not  friendly  to  the  people  of  the  West, 
whether  they  come  as  merchants  or  missionaries,  or 
do  not  come  at  all.  And  it  is  time  that  our  people  in 
the  south  and  centre  and  north  realise  that  all  for- 
eigners are  not  the  same,  and  that  some  Christians 
are  much  to  be  preferred  to  some  Taoists  and  follow- 
ers of  Buddha." 


CHAPTER  III 

RELATIONS   WITH   GENERAL   GORDON 

Through  attracting  the  attention  of  the  famous 
scholar  and  soldier  Tseng-kofan,  at  that  time 
commander-in-chief  of  the  regular  and  irregular 
forces  employed  against  the  Taipings  in  Central 
China,  Li  Hung  Chang,  then  a  comparatively 
obscure  but  brilliant  civil  officer  of  his  native  Prov- 
ince of  Anhuei,  was  first  engaged  in  the  profession  of 
arms;  an  occupation  which  was  eventually  to  bring 
him  into  contact  with  General  Charles  Gordon  and 
establish  a  relationship  whose  varying  degrees  of 
friendship  and  trust,  at  least  on  Li's  side,  are,  during 
a  number  of  years,  told  in  notations  of  sufficient 
comprehensiveness  to  make  a  volume  in  themselves. 

Quite  with  the  enthusiasm  of  early  youth,  al- 
though he  was  thirty-five  years  of  age,  he  writes  of 
Viceroy  Tseng-kofan  in  1855:  — 

"  It  is  the  highest  compliment  of  my  life,  and 
praise  of  my  humble  work  in  the  different  minor 
offices  I  have  filled,  to  hear  that  the  great  Tseng- 
kofan  has  decided  to  give  me  a  place  under  him  in 
the  extermination  of  the  Chang-mao-tseh  (Long- 
Haired  Rebels).  I  am  as  yet  uninformed  as  to  the 
exact  nature  of  my  duties,  but  whatever  they  are 
I  will  do  my  best  to  fulfil  them  properly.  Oh,  I  will 
fight  —  fight  —  fight,    for    I    despise    these    rough 


44         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

rebels  who  would  go  through  the  country  Hke  bands 
of  robbers.  They  would  destroy  the  whole  Govern- 
ment if  they  could,  and  would  march  to  Peking  and 
level  the  Sacred  Throne  itself.  But  we  must  com- 
pletely annihilate  them,  and  drive  them  into  the  sea, 
or  feed  their  bodies  to  the  swine  upon  the  land. 

*'My  father,  who  has  been  thrice  to  see  Tseng- 
kofan,  says  that  but  few  men  of  China  of  late  centu- 
ries have  been  greater  scholars  than  the  Viceroy. 
What  a  reputation !  Is  it  not  wonderful  to  be  learned 
and  profound  in  the  classics,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  wise  administrator  and  soldier  of  great  strategy? 
Yet  such  is  Tseng-kofan  —  learned,  wise,  rigorous, 
and  brave!  And  such  a  man  as  this,  whose  deeds  are 
heralded  and  praised  from  the  far  south  to  the  far 
north,  from  Tibet  to  the  eastern  sea,  desires  me  to 
assist  him  in  his  great  work. 

"  Tseng-kofan's  family  is  like  our  own  in  many 
ways,  though  it  is  necessary  that  I  show  a  little 
modesty,  and  do  not  draw  the  comparison  too  closely. 
But  his  is  one  of  the  old  Chinese  families  of  Anhuei 
and  Kiangsu,  for  there  are  two  great  branches.  It 
was  said  by  friends  of  mine  that  he  came  originally 
of  the  Manchu  blood,  and  that  it  was  on  this  account 
that  he  had  been  given  high  offices  and  vast  prefer- 
ments, but  I  have  learned  that  this  information  is 
wholly  wrong,  and  that  for  eleven  centuries  the  home 
of  the  family  has  been  in  the  provinces. 

"  1855.  —  Three  of  my  old  friends  of  student  days 
were  with  me  to  dine  last  night.   They  all  came  to 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    45 

the  office  [Li  refers  very  likely  to  the  office  wherein 
he  was  engaged  as  sub-treasurer  of  Hofei]  during  the 
day  with  the  intention,  as  I  soon  saw,  of  chaffing  me 
and  disturbing  my  work.  This  was  very  wrong  of 
them,  for  if  they  are  not  taken  up  with  serious  mat- 
ters themselves,  they  should  not  make  it  a  part  of 
their  business  to  interfere  w4th  the  weighty  affairs 
of  others. 

"P'ing  remarked  upon  my  good  clothes  and  the 
heavy  jade  ring.  I  did  not  like  what  he  said  to  the 
effect  that  my  father  must  be  more  liberal  these  days 
than  when  I  was  studying  for  my  degrees.  I  told 
P'ing  I  did  not  like  his  manner  of  speech,  for  it  more 
than  intimated  that  I  was  receiving  no  salary  or, 
perhaps,  that  I  was  securing  funds  that  did  not 
rightly  belong  to  me. 

"It  is  true  that  both  my  father  and  my  uncle  are 
more  liberal  in  their  offers  than  they  were  six  or  eight 
years  ago,  and  that  I  could  obtain,  if  I  needed,  goodly 
sums  from  them.  But  it  is  not  because  they  have 
changed  in  money  matters;  they  know  now  that  a 
borrowed  sum  could  be  quickly  repaid  with  goodly 
interest,  while  before  there  would  have  been  some 
uncertainty  about  it. 

"I  have  not  had  as  yet  vast  experiences  in  the 
world,  but  it  is  an  established  thought  with  me  that 
if  you  are  possessed  of  a  definite  amount  of  anything, 
people  are  willing  to  aid  you  to  add  to  it,  while  if 
you  are  wholly  without,  it  is  a  remarkable  man  who 
will  offer  you  anything.  It  appears  to  be  the  same  in 


46         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

regard  to  all  things  connected  with  life.  If  a  student 
fails  in  the  examinations  none  of  the  bachelors  or 
doctors  will  sit  up  nights  with  him  in  his  recitations, 
nor  explain  the  difficult  passages.  But  let  him  be 
high  in  his  student  work,  and  come  out  at  the  head  of 
his  lists  in  his  examinations,  and  all  the  learned  men 
will  offer  their  assistance  to  make  him  better.  If  a 
man  have  no  money  at  all,  and  is  a  ragged  beggar 
upon  the  highway,  he  is  most  likely  to  remain  so, 
for  he  has  no  friends,  except  mendicants  like  himself, 
and  they  are  of  no  use  to  him  when  he  would  buy  a 
bowl  of  soup  on  a  cold  night  or  a  dish  of  locusts  or 
bees  on  a  holiday.  This  rule  extends  even  to  the 
affairs  of  the  domestic  realm,  for  if  a  man  has  gone 
over  a  limit  of  years  without  a  wife,  all  the  women 
of  his  district  believe  either  that  he  cannot  get  one, 
or  that  he  would  be  unable  to  support  one  if  he  had 
her.  But  when  he  is  once  married,  and  has  assumed 
a  position  of  some  standing  in  the  community,  there 
are  many  women  who  think  their  daughters  might 
be  valuable  additions  to  his  household." 

"P'ing,  San,  and  Klun  are  good  friends  of  mine, 
but  I  do  not  care  to  have  them  obtrude  their  noses 
and  tongues  into  my  affairs  when  I  am  at  the  office. 
The  treasurer  was  not  there  when  they  called.  Had 
he  been,  he  would  have  put  a  sudden  stop  to  their 
gibes,  and  ordered  them  to  go  about  their  own  con- 
cerns. But,  nevertheless,  he  heard  of  their  visit,  and 
questioned  me  about  it  when  he  returned  from  the 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    47 

ofHce  of  the  Chi-fu.  He  asked  if  I  was  making  the 
yamen  a  place  for  reunions  with  my  Hterati  friends. 
Tsung  is  himself  an  ignorant  man  in  all  things  liter- 
ary, although  he  is  a  master  of  accounts  and  gives 
the  collectors  no  rest.  During  the  term  of  office  few 
taxes  have  remained  unpaid  except  in  those  districts 
which  have  been  most  greatly  despoiled  by  the 
Taipings,  and  in  such  districts  the  Viceroy  has  always 
been  considerate  enough  to  allow  of  their  being 
remitted." 

"My  friends,  who  have  learned  of  the  military 
appointment,  never  seem  to  tire  with  their  jokes  on 
my  former  ambition.  Some  of  them  who  heard  me 
say  at  one  time  that  it  was  my  hope  to  write  a  great 
classic,  an  epic  that  would  perhaps  give  me  high 
rank  among  the  literary  names  of  our  history,  have 
told  of  my  aspirations  all  about;  and  even  Tseng- 
kofan,  in  his  talk  with  my  father,  asked  by  way  of 
amusement  if  I  would  be  a  better  officer  with  the 
dictionary  or  the  sword.  Of  course,  he  was  only 
uttering  a  playful  jest,  and  my  father  knew  it;  for 
the  Viceroy  has  told  that  his  attention  was  first 
called  to  me  by  the  statement  made  by  the  hein- 
kwan  that  I  had  stood  so  high  in  my  literary  work. 
Then  when  I  wrote  to  him  asking  for  an  appointment, 
he  complimented  me  highly  upon  the  appearance  of 
my  manuscript  —  with  which,  in  truth,  I  took  extra 
pains.  Later,  when  I  saw  him  personally,  he  an- 
nounced that  all  my  record  and  accomplishments 


48         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

were  in  my  favour,  and  that  he  would  appoint  me  to 
a  place  near  him;  and  that,  if  I  deserved  it,  a  pro- 
motion to  a  place  of  greater  responsibility  would 
follow." 

"Everybody  knows  that  a  'soldier  is  despised,* 
and  that,  according  to  the  Old  Rules,  I  am  leaving 
the  greatest  of  the  professions  for  the  worst  of  occu- 
pations. At  least,  such  would  be  the  case  if  I  were 
going  low  in  the  ranks  of  a  regiment  or  army  that 
fights  alone  for  pay.  It  is  not  so  in  this  case.  I  do 
not  like  the  occupation  of  arms,  but  I  have  my  future 
to  think  of,  and  the  provinces  need  good  men.  I 
have  never  left  and  will  not  leave  the  profession  of 
letters,  but  is  this  a  time  for  writing  poetry?  Who 
would  read  my  stanzas  and  lines?  Who  cares  for  ro- 
mances when  fire  and  sword  are  in  the  district? 

"It  is  wrong  to  say  that  I  have  forsaken  the  literati, 
and  that  I  have  changed  all  my  ambitions.  Is  not 
Tseng-kofan  the  most  learned  scholar  in  all  Central 
China,  and  is  he  not  Commander-in-Chief  of  all  the 
Forces?" 

During  the  following  years  Li  Hung  Chang  wrote 
with  even  more  care  than  was  his  practice,  but  of 
matters  relating  largely  to  his  own  rise  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  Viceroy,  and  consequent  promotion 
from  one  post  to  another.  His  diary  and  other 
memoranda  are  filled  with  multitudinous  detail,  all 
indicating  that  the  "  Ready-for-Office  "  graduate  was 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    49 

indeed  "in  office,"  and  committed  to  a  career  of 
tireless  political  activity. 

It  appears  that  in  the  five  years  following  the 
surrendering  of  his  fiscal  position,  the  young  man 
had  quite  forgotten  that  "soldiers  are  despised,"  for 
a  lengthy  writing  made  in  August  contains  the  fol- 
lowing: — 

"To  be  selected  as  head  of  a  great  number  of 
troops  is  indeed  an  honour  not  to  be  despised.  It 
was  my  own  banner  [regiment]  which  first  attracted 
the  most  favourable  attention  of  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  has  finally  caused  him  to  select  me  as 
head  of  the  forces  at  Kiangsu.  I  did  not  expect  the 
promotion,  but  it  did  not  come  as  a  great  surprise, 
for  my  troops  have  been  driving  the  Long-Haired 
Rebels  (Chang-mao-tseh)  before  them,  like  chaff 
before  the  wind. 

"In  my  earlier  days  I  did  not  believe  that  I  should 
enjoy  engaging  in  battle  or  the  sight  of  carnage; 
but  a  new  nature  has  come  to  me,  I  imagine,  and  I 
sometimes  wonder  if  I  shall  ever  want  to  return  to 
peaceful  pursuits. 

"Surely  not  so  long  as  these  fanatics  with  their 
new  gods  and  new  religion  are  devastating  the  land. 
They  start  out  and  preach  and  call  themselves  the 
Shangti  Hwui  [Association  for  Worshipping  God], 
and  they  gather  hundreds  and  thousands  of  converts. 
Their  name  itself  is  a  treason  against  the  Pure 
Dynasty,  but  they  would  not  have  been  molested  if 
they  had  not  armed  themselves  and  marched  for  the 


50         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

assault  of  cities.  They  burn  and  pillage,  and  com- 
mit untold  crimes  against  peaceful  inhabitants,  and 
force  the  country  people  —  and  those  in  the  towns 
and  cities,  too  —  to  go  along  with  them  and  worship 
their  Tien-fu  [Heavenly  Father]  and  the  Tien-hiung 
[Elder  Brother,  as  Jesus  Christ  was  termed  by  the 
fanatical  Taipings].  But  everywhere  we  have  been 
exterminating  these  Long-Hairs  from  the  south,  and 
it  gives  me  much  pride  to  know  that  by  my  own 
orders  hundreds  of  their  heads  have  been  lopped  off. 

"When  some  of  the  meat  butchers  at  Chi-kiang 
told  me  that  because  of  the  depredations  of  these 
Taipings  in  all  the  country  roundabout  there  was 
no  meat  anywhere  on  sale,  not  even  sufficient  for  a 
meal,  in  that  city,  and  asked  if  some  of  the  Long- 
Hair  prisoners  might  be  killed  for  food,  I  told  them 
to  see  my  captain  in  command  over  the  wretches, 
and  tell  him  it  would  do  no  harm  to  replenish  the 
meat  supply  of  the  city. 

"It  was  the  same  in  Nanking  when  they  were  in 
control.  They  came  in  hordes  upon  the  place,  and 
made  havoc  of  the  outlying  suburbs,  and  slaughtered 
right  and  left.  Then,  when  great  breaches  were  made 
in  the  walls,  these  Long-Haired  Rebels  poured  into 
the  city  like  floods  of  fierce  devils,  cutting  and  burn- 
ing and  committing  all  manner  of  horrible  assaults. 
Their  hungry  thousands,  all  the  riff-rafT  and  tough 
characters  from  that  vast  region  between  Canton 
and  the  Great  River  [Yangtse],  and  far  to  the  west- 
ward until  Hankow  was  reached,  came  in  tens  of 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    51 

thousands  to  raise  up  this  new  reHgion  and  to  spread 
destruction  wherever  they  traversed. 

"They  had  no  organisation,  although  they  had 
great  titles  and  many  ceremonies.  But  their  leader, 
Hung  Siu-tsuen,  whom  they  dared  to  call  Tien-teh 
[heavenly  virtue],  and  his  satrap,  Yun-Shan,  were  as 
wild  and  unbalanced  in  mind  in  all  things  as  they 
were  in  religion,  and  they  soon  found  themselves 
hemmed  in  in  Nanking  —  their  long  tongues  sticking 
out  in  thirst  for  water,  while  their  lean  stomachs 
grew  as  thin  as  a  pig's  bladder  when  it  is  emptied. 

"They  would  not  come  out  and  fight  in  the  coun- 
try districts  along  the  Great  River.  No.  Neither 
would  they  surrender  their  forces,  and  accept  the 
leniency  of  Tseng-kofan,  the  great  soldier  and  great 
scholar.  No !  They  would  stay  only  with  their  large 
numbers  in  Nanking  until  fever  swept  them  away 
by  the  boatload,  and  until  the  bodies  of  loyal  sub- 
jects to  the  Tseng-chao  Throne  [Manchu]  were 
killed,  so  many  a  day,  and  the  bodies  offered  for  sale 
in  the  meat  stalls! 

"My  officers  and  bannermen  have  made  reports 
without  number  to  me  of  the  atrocities  of  the  Long- 
Hairs  from  the  south,  and  with  my  own  eyes  I  have 
been  a  witness  to  occurrences  that  my  mother  would 
not  believe  if  she  had  merely  heard  tell  of  them 
second-hand,  or  had  read  of  them  in  books.  Yet 
she,  too,  and  my  father  have  also  witnessed  the  fire 
and  sword  of  the  Long-Hairs;  for  our  own  home,  the 
place  where  I  was  born,  and  where  at  this  writing 


52         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

my  wife  is  —  for  the  place  has  been  partially  rebuilt 
—  was  burned  like  a  stack  of  rice-straw  by  the  mur- 
dering bandits,  and  hundreds  of  places  in  that  part 
were  treated  in  like  manner,  and  the  people  butchered. 
Therefore,  no  orders  can  be  too  harsh  with  such 
marauders,  wild  fanatics,  who  have  piled  the  living 
and  the  dead  in  great  mounds,  and  burned  their 
bodies  together.  I  cannot  forgive  or  overlook  their 
licentiousness  and  thirst  for  blood,  and  I  praise  all 
the  gods  and  all  the  ancestors  that  I  am  permitted  to 
be  in  a  position  where  I  may  follow  them  and  follow 
them  until  they  are  all  dead  or  driven  into  the  sea." 

^'December  12,  1859.  —  Report  was  made  to  me 
to-day  that  P'ing  Kli  and  a  brother,  both  of  them 
friends  of  mine  of  student  days,  were  killed  in  a 
house-brawl  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city.  I  regretted 
very  much  to  hear  of  this  affair,  though  it  seems 
that  P'ing,  who  is  half  ready  to  join  in  the  beliefs 
of  the  Taipings,  poked  humour  or  satire  at  some  of 
the  soldiers,  and  they  hung  his  body  and  that  of  his 
brother  over  a  bridge.  The  soldiers'  names  were 
reported  to  me,  and  I  gave  orders  that  they  at  once 
be  treated  in  like  manner.  I  do  not  like  to  lose  good 
soldiers,  especially  at  this  time,  but  three  or  four, 
more  or  less,  will  not  be  noticed  much." 

''April  16,  i860.  —  My  wife  has  given  birth  to 
another  boy,  and  I  am  happy.  I  hope  he  will  live 
to  be  a  great  man  and  a  governor-general." 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    53 

''June  16,  i860.  —  These  Wangs  [Taiping  gen- 
erals] would  murder  me  as  they  caused  my  good  and 
noble  brother  to  die  at  Taitsang,  but  there  is  a 
plentiful  supply  of  blood  in  my  veins  yet,  and  a 
brain  to  accomplish  much  against  the  Long-Haired 
Rebels  and  their  chieftains." 

In  that  same  month  and  year  he  for  the  first  time 
mentions  by  name  the  'Ever  Victorious  Army" 
[The  Chang-shing  Kiun],  of  which  Colonel  Charles 
Gordon,  of  the  British  Army,  was  later  to  become 
commander,  and  with  whom  he  was  to  deliver  such 
a  succession  of  telling  defeats  upon  the  rebels  in  the 
provinces  of  Chekiang  and  Kiangsi  that  the  power 
of  the  Taipings  was  comp'etely  broken,  and  the 
authority  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty  restored  through- 
out the  region.  In  the  mean  time  the  writer  of  these 
memoirs,  promoted  to  the  command  of  the  Imperial 
forces  in  both  provinces,  was  also  acting  as  Governor 
ad  interim;  and  was  shortly  to  be  fully  commissioned 
from  Peking  upon  the  high  recommendation  of 
Governor-General  Tseng-kofan. 

He  writes:  "It  has  never  been  my  belief  that  it 
was  well  to  encourage  foreigners  to  meddle  in  the 
home  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  and  I  believe  if  I  were 
in  supreme  authority  now,  or  had  been  in  the  years 
of  this  Long-Haired  rebellion,  I  would  not  have 
memorialised  the  Throne  to  allow  the  English  and 
the  French  to  supply  troops  in  its  suppression;  but 
Tseng-kofan  is  a  man  of  great  wisdom,  and  he  is  my 


54         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

strongest  champion;  therefore  I  will  not  criticise 
nor  even  pretend  to  follow  a  path  that  veers  in  the 
slightest  from  the  one  he  would  deem  most  suitable. 
Tseng-kofan  says  the  foreigners,  at  least  their  reli- 
gion, is  responsible  for  this  present  scourge,  and  that 
it  is  well  if  they  lose  a  few  thousand  of  their  soldiers 
and  marines  in  bringing  an  end  to  it.  Undoubtedly 
this  is  true,  but  at  the  same  time  is  n't  it  possible  to 
believe  that  these  yang  kuei  [foreign  devils]  are  often 
at  the  bottom  of  such  troubles  as  this,  that  they 
may  be  given  a  good  excuse  for  stepping  in  and  mak- 
ing claims  for  their  nations  on  account  of  their  aid? 
"Yet,  I  must  say  that  they  have  been  a  great  help, 
more  especially  the  English,  who  have  sent  in  the 
past  four  years  many  well-trained  soldiers  to  our 
aid.  They  are  splendid  fighters  and  worthy  men, 
for  foreigners,  when  they  are  sober;  but  they  have 
neither  liking  nor  respect  for  the  Imperial  troops 
when  they  are  filled  with  intoxicants,  and  it  requires 
much  of  the  time  of  our  patriotic  army  to  keep  them 
within  bounds  after  the  capture  of  a  city.  They 
eat  and  drink  everything  they  can  find,  but  they  do 
not  mistreat  our  women,  and  they  kill  non-combat- 
(>^  ants  only  upon  great  provocation. 

jyp  "I  have  presented  to  Wu  of  Sung-kiang  a  sum  of 

.^  money  to  divide  with  the  American,  Ward,  who  is 

doing  such  energetic  work  in  recruiting  my  'Ever 
Victorious  Army,'  and  I  have  recommended  to  the 
Viceroy  that  this  man  be  made  a  general.  I  have 
not  seen  him  as  yet,  but  I  have  learned  of  many  of 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    55 

his  exploits,  and  am  ready  to  believe  that  he  is  a 
most  hard-working  and  courageous  man." 

*^  January  5,  1861.  —  Sung-kiang,  which  is  occu- 
pied by  the  Long-Hairs  in  great  numbers,  must  be 
retaken  at  once  at  all  costs,  and  I  have  sent  orders  to 
Wu  and  Ward  to  consult  with  me  at  once  regarding 
it.    The  'Ever  Victorious  Army'  has  been  lying  in 
idleness  now  for  many  days,  and  it  may  be  necessary 
for  me  to  assume  personal  command  again.   I  would 
not  care  so  much  about  several  weeks  or  months  of 
rest,  for  I  have  found  that  my  own  body  has  great 
pains  and  fatigue  after  all  this  campaigning;  but 
while  they  are  resting  they  eat  more  than  during  this 
fighting.    When  they  are  marching  or  engaged  in 
battle,  they  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  food  and 
drink,  and  they  manage  to  get  it  somehow.  But  when 
they  remain  idle  in  big  numbers,  they  get  lazy  and 
mutinous,  and  want  the  food  brought  to  them.  This 
alone  requires  the  services  of  many  extra  men,  and 
the  expense  of  the  food  is  hard  to  bear.    Besides, 
when  they  are  idle  they  are  given  to  much  excess 
and  lawlessness  upon  their  own  accounts,  and  do 
not  hesitate  to  demand  more  pay  than  is  coming  to 
them.    I  think  it  is  best  to  keep  them  fighting;  then 
they  are  more  likely  to  want  to  sleep  at  night,  in- 
stead of  prowling  about  making  trouble  for  them- 
selves and  others." 

In  December,  1862,  we  find:  — 

"It  is  sad  to  know  that  the  right  kind  of  a 


56         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

commander  to  succeed  Ward  has  not  been  found, 
although  several  have  been  tried.  Ward  was  an 
energetic  fighter,  and  if  he  could  only  have  lived 
there  would  be  great  benefits  resulting  to  the  Im- 
perial cause  and  many  honours  for  himself.  In  all 
places  where  he  was  in  charge  he  was  almost  sure  of 
victory,  and  the  Long-Hairs  began  to  fear  his  name 
alone. 

"I  was  with  him  when  he  died  at  Tsz'ki,  and  the 
tears  came  to  my  eyes  when  he  breathed  his  last. 
It  was  affecting  to  know  that  he  so  grieved  because 
he  was  dying  so  far  from  all  his  family  and  friends, 
and  this  seemed  to  be  of  more  moment  than  his 
actual  dying.  Though  he  had  drawn  in  full  the  pay 
for  all  his  soldiers,  he  had  a  considerable  sum  due 
him  as  lieutenant-commander  of  the  Chang-shing 
Kiun,  but  he  made  no  mention  of  it,  and  I  will  have 
it  spent  in  a  shrine  to  his  memory." 

The  same  day  he  writes:  "Neither  Burgevine 
[an  American  who  succeeded  to  Ward's  command] 
nor  Holland  [an  English  ex-officer]  has  been  able 
to  do  anything  with  the  reorganisation  of  the  force. 
I  think  from  their  actions  they  only  pretend  a  mili- 
tary education.  I  have  therefore  consented  that 
Major  Cooke,  who  comes  with  fairly  good  docu- 
ments, may  take  command  and  see  what  he  can  do. 
Both  my  feet  trouble  me,  and  my  back  is  very  lame 
from  last  year's  fall  at  Kiang,  else  I  would  resume 
individual  command." 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON     57 

"  February  18,  1863.  —  I  have  received  word  from 
Sir  Frederick  Bruce  and  General  Staveley  that  one 
of  the  best  of  EngHsh  officers,  a  Colonel  Charles 
Gordon,  will  be  given  us  to  take  command  of  the 
'Ever  Victorious  Army."  The  Governor  says  that 
this  fine  officer  will  serve  without  pay,  which  is  not 
only  very  gracious  and  generous  of  the  great  English 
Government,  but  very  pleasing  to  me;  for  the  cost 
of  this  long  and  terrible  scourge  is  appalling  to  the 
provincial  treasuries,  as  well  as  depleting  to  private 
funds.  Can  it  be,  though,  that  this  officer  is  not 
worth  much,  and  that  he  is  of  little  service  to  his  own 
Government?  In  these  days  valuable  services  are 
seldom  given  unless  something  of  equal  or  greater 
worth  is  expected  in  return." 

^^  February  28,  1863. — Another  communication 
has  been  brought  me  from  the  English,  this  time 
from  Colonel  Gordon  himself.  He  writes  but  very 
briefly,  in  his  own  language,  and  says  that  it  must 
be  understood  that  he  is  to  be  in  supreme  command 
or  not  at  all. 

"That  is  just  the  manner  of  all  these  foreigners 
who  come  into  our  service,  even  when  they  them- 
selves are  seeking  the  position,  and  are  held  waiting 
many  days  or  weeks  for  their  answer.  Of  course 
I  cannot  say  this  of  this  English  officer,  for  he  did 
not  apply  for  a  generalship  nor  does  he  want  pay. 
He  does  not  say  this  last  himself,  but  his  superiors  do, 
and  that  is  sufficient  for  me.    However,  if  he  is  an 


58         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

able  man  and  can  make  of  the  army  the  kind  of 
weapon  that  is  needed  now  to  break  the  necks  of  all 
these  Taipings,  I  will  see  to  it  —  regardless  of  what 
his  Government  may  say  —  that  he  is  well  rewarded 
in  honours  and  money." 

(Without  date).  —  "The  thought  is  troubling  me 
that  this  new  British  colonel  and  myself  may  not 
get  along  very  well  together.  That  letter  of  his 
announcing  that  only  upon  the  condition  that  he 
be  given  supreme  command  would  he  consent  to 
fight  the  rebels,  has  caused  me  considerable  uneasi- 
ness. Ward  said  the  same  thing,  so  did  the  useless 
Burgevine  and  the  incompetent  Holland.  As  for 
Cooke,  he  would  have  been  a  good  general  over  a 
crowd  of  loafers  to  lead  camels  to  water. 

"I  hate  all  these  foreigners,  but  it  would  not  be 
wise  to  let  them  know.  It  is  not  the  men  personally 
that  I  dislike,  but  it  is  their  airs  of  wonderful 
superiority.  Each  and  every  one  sings  the  same  song : 
*I  will  do  this  and  I  will  do  that;  I  will  drive  them 
out  or  I  will  kill  them  all;  I  '11  make  your  army  more 
glorious  than  ever;  but  you  must  let  me  have  my 
own  way  and  not  interfere  with  me.' 

"That  is  the  whole  style  of  the  foreigners,  espe- 
cially as  I  have  seen  them  in  this  war.  And  it  makes 
hair  grow  stiff  on  my  neck  to  know  that  because  of 
the  emergencies  constantly  arising  we  are  obliged 
to  put  up  with  it,  and  say,  'Yes,  yes,*  and  smile. 
Some  day  I  will  ask  them  the  question:  'Was  your 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    59 

country  civilised  and  studying  the  Seven  Arts  before 
ours,  and  were  you  born  in  a  century  of  greater  wis- 
dom than  myself?'" 

Perhaps  it  might  be  well  here  to  explain  that, 
without  justification,  the  Taiping  hordes  which 
marched  upon  the  defenceless  inhabitants  of  Kiangsi, 
Anhuei,  Chekiang,  and  Kiangsu,  destroying  and 
outraging,  and  disputing  the  Imperial  authority  of 
Peking,  were  led  by  men  claiming  authority  from 
the  "God  of  the  Christians  and  his  Elder  Brother, 
Jesus  Christ."  This  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  their 
supreme  leader.  Hung  Siu-tsuen,  who  had  at  one 
time  imbibed  a  few  dreamy  notions  from  a  mission- 
ary tract  which  had  fallen  into  his  hands,  declared 
that  in  a  vision  the  "God  of  the  Christians"  had 
appointed  him  Emperor  of  China. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  with  prominent  men  of  his  time, 
including  Tseng-kofan,  and  Prince  Kung,  —  as  well, 
of  course,  as  the  Court,  —  believed  the  Taiping 
Rebellion  to  be  the  direct  result  of  foreign  teachings 
in  China;  when,  as  a  matter  of  historical  fact,  the 
chief  Christian  missionary  of  the  time  in  the  king- 
dom. Rev.  I.  J.  Robberts  at  Canton,  refused  to  take 
Hung  Siu-tsuen's  mentality  seriously,  and  made  light 
of  the  latter's  alleged  "visions." 

In  no  sense  did  Siu-tsuen  receive  encouragement 
from  any  Christian  nation  or  quarter,  yet  the  fact 
of  his  having  announced  himself  as  the  anointed  one 
to  lead  the  Chinese  people  to  a  religious  life  such  as 


\/ 


60         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

the  "foreign  devils"  practised,  was  sufficient  in  itself 
to  characterise  the  rebellion  as  a  Christian  attack 
upon  the  Pure  Dynasty,  and  to  place  the  odium 
of  the  horrible  warfare  of  the  Taipings  upon  the 
Church  of  the  foreigners. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  Li  Hung 
Chang,  whose  relations  with  foreigners  had  up  to 
this  time  been  practically  nil,  and  whose  mind  had 
not  perhaps  entered  upon  its  broadening  period, 
should  write  as  we  have  seen  —  with  more  malice  in 
his  heart,  no  doubt,  than  he  saw  fit  to  commit  to 
words;  yet  it  is  to  his  everlasting  credit  that,  with 
ripening  years  and  a  fuller  understanding  of  the 
"Western  Church,"  he  became,  as  other  parts  of 
these  memoirs  tell,  one  of  its  warmest  friends. 

"March  27.  —  It  is  a  direct  blessing  from  Heaven, 
I  believe,  the  coming  of  this  British  Gordon,  whom 
I  am  already  designating  General.  It  appears  that 
he  has  seen  some  service  before  in  China  with  the 
Anglo-French  troops,  and  that  for  a  time  he  was  at 
Tientsin.  However,  now  that  I  have  met  him  per- 
sonally, and  we  are  quite  like  friends,  I  am  very  well 
pleased  with  him. 

"He  is  superior  in  manner  and  bearing  to  any  of 
the  foreigners  I  have  come  into  contact  with,  and 
does  not  show  outwardly  that  conceit  which  makes 
most  of  them  repugnant  in  my  sight.  Besides,  while 
he  is  possessed  of  a  splendid  military  bearing,  he  is 
direct  and  businesslike.    Within  two  hours  after  his 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON  6i 

arrival  he  was  inspecting  the  troops  and  giving 
orders;  and  I  could  not  but  rejoice  at  the  manner  in 
which  his  commands  were  obeyed. 

"It  seems  that  the  British  Government  simply 
'lends'  him  to  us,  and  that  he  will  not  be  on  the 
Imperial  pay-roll  at  all.  I  am  afraid  that  this  is  bad 
in  a  certain  sense,  for  the  man  that  offers  his  serv- 
ices to  you  gratuitously  is  more  apt  to  be  independ- 
ent and  ready  to  throw  up  his  position  than  the  one 
who  is  receiving  even  small  wages.  I  must  arrange, 
some  way,  to  have  General  Gordon  accept  money." 

"April  7.  —  General  Gordon,  with  3000  members 
of  the  'Ever  Victorious  Army'  and  15,000  or  16,000 
of  regular  Imperial  troops  and  irregular  Provincials, 
is  pressing  a  hard  attack  upon  the  rebels  at  Fushan. 
I  gave  them  some  pay  the  day  before  yesterday  and 
let  it  be  known  that  as  soon  as  Fushan  is  completely 
in  our  hands  another  good  payment  will  be  made. 
Then,  when  Suchau  is  again  under  our  control,  I  told 
them,  full  payment  and  a  bounty  would  be  given 
each  member  of  the  force  under  Gordon." 

'^  May  2. — A  former  hein-kwan  at  Taitsang-fu 
brought  me  complaints  that  Gordon's  men,  when 
they  captured  the  place,  stripped  it  as  dry  as  a  fish- 
bone of  everything  valuable,  and  killed  surrendered 
rebels  by  the  hundreds.  He  was  very  excited,  this 
late  hein-kwan,  and  asked  if  I  would  not  give  him 
an  order  to  Gordon  to  protect  his  life  and  property. 


62         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"The  impudence  of  this  rascal,  who  himself  en- 
couraged the  Long-Hairs  at  Taitsang  because  he 
could  not  hold  his  office  for  ever!  I  long  have  known 
the  thieving  propensities  of  this  traitor,  and,  during 
the  time  he  was  gesticulating  his  complaint,  I  was 
wondering  if  it  would  not  be  well  to  call  some  of  the 
guard  and  have  an  end  made  to  his  troubles  in  the 
yard.  But  I  thought  better  of  it,  and  so  sent  him 
back  with  a  letter  to  Gordon,  written  by  Hoh  in 
English,  asking  the  Commander  to  please  cut  the 
fellow's  head  off  upon  its  presentation.  He  went 
away  very  gleefully." 

(No  date  attached;  probably  written  in  mid- 
May.) —  "What  a  sight  for  tired  eyes  and  elixir 
for  a  heavy  heart  it  is  to  see  this  splendid  English- 
man fight!  I  have  just  returned  from  nine  days  and 
nights  with  him,  and  if  there  is  anything  that  I 
admire  nearly  as  much  as  the  superb  scholarship  of 
Tseng-kofan,  it  is  the  military  qualities  of  this  fine 
officer.  Fight  —  move  —  fight  again  —  move  again 
' —  landing  his  men  —  planning  by  night  and  execut- 
ing by  day  —  planning  by  day  and  executing  by 
night!   He  is  a  glorious  fellow! 

"Yesterday  when  I  left  him  to  return  for  a  brief 
space,  I  told  him  he  was  my  brother;  that  I  consid- 
ered him  worthy  to  fill  the  place  of  the  brother  who  is 
departed.  Could  I  have  said  more  in  all  the  words  of 
the  world?  The  Englishman's  face  was  first  filled 
with  a  deep  pleasure,  and  then  he  seemed  to  be 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    63 

thinking  of  something  depressing  and  sad;  for  the 
smile  went  from  his  mouth  and  there  were  tears  in 
his  eyes  when  he  thanked  me  for  what  I  had  said. 
Can  it  be  that  he  has,  or  has  had,  some  great  trouble 
in  his  life,  and  that  he  fights  recklessly  to  forget  it, 
or  that  death  has  no  terrors  for  him?" 

(Without  date.)  —  "I  am  sorry  there  is  not  entire 
harmony  between  Ching  and  Gordon.  The  reports 
from  each  of  them  regarding  the  other  indicate  an 
ill-feeling." 

^^  June  12.  —  A  number  of  officers,  who  have  been 
cashiered  by  General  Gordon,  appealed  to  me  to  rein- 
state them,  but  I  have  refused  to  do  anything  of  the 
kind.  It  is  my  belief  that  they  should  have  been  forced 
away  from  the  army  a  long  time  ago.  They  have  no 
patriotism,  but  look  only  for  booty  and  fresh  wives." 

^^  Later.  Same  date.  —  General  Ching  threatens 
to  resign  if  some  curb  is  not  put  upon  General 
Gordon.  Perhaps  it  was  a  mistake  to  tell  Gordon 
that  he  was  under  my  direct  orders,  and  that  Ching, 
though  commander  of  the  forces  against  the  rebels, 
was  not  to  interfere  directly  with  the  '  Ever  Victori- 
ous Army.'  Ching  is  far  from  being  a  great  military 
man.  Besides,  he  has  a  bad  temper  like  Gordon,  and 
they  are  both  quick  to  say  hot  words,  like  myself." 

"July   19.  —  Gordon   must  control   his  tongue, 


64         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

even  if  he  lets  his  mind  run  loose.  To  be  told  that  I 
am  secretly  favouring  Ching  and  trying  to  put  him 
in  complete  control  of  the  forces,  including  the  '  Ever 
Victorious  Army,'  when  there  is  no  truth  in  it,  and 
to  be  further  accused  of  withholding  money  that  is 
due  the  troops,  is  hard  to  bear.  General  Gordon 
demands  the  respect  of  those  who  are  inferior  to  him 
in  rank,  and  he  believes  in  strong  measures  to  main- 
tain discipline.  Why,  then,  does  he  not  accord  me 
the  honours  that  are  due  as  head  of  the  military  and 
civil  authority  in  these  parts?" 

^'  July  28.  —  Ching  came  again  to-day  with  com- 
plaints against  Gordon.  I  drove  him  from  my  pres- 
ence and  directed  him  to  return  to  his  command. 
These  things  keep  me  awake  nights,  and  make  me 
sleepy  during  the  hours  when  I  should  be  devoting 
my  best  energy  and  attention  to  my  duties." 

(No  date.)  —  "Gordon  thinks  of  nothing  but 
money  these  days,  and  demands  coin  of  me  as  if  I 
were  the  god  of  gold  and  silver.  He  says  the  men 
will  not  fight  any  more  unless  they  are  paid.  I  tell 
him  that  as  soon  as  Suchau  is  in  our  hands  there  will 
be  funds  sufficient  to  pay  all  arrears  and  some  good 
bounty.  This  is  the  word  that  I  have  from  the  Vice- 
roy, and  his  promises  come  from  the  Throne." 

During  the  following  week  nothing  appears  in  Li's 
memoirs    regarding    the    numerous    troubles    and 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    65 

changes  which  beset  him  during  that  time,  culmi- 
nating in  the  virtual  resignation  of  General  Gordon 
and  his  departure  for  Shanghai,  where  he  hoped  to 
have  his  action  ratified  by  his  British  superiors.  Sir 
Frederick  Bruce  and  General  Staveley.  But,  arriving 
in  that  city,  he  ascertained  that  Burgevine,  the 
American  who  had  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
"Ever  Victorious  Army"  upon  the  death  of  Ward, 
had  but  lately  gone  over  to  the  Taipings  with  about 
one  hundred  foreigners  from  Shanghai,  and  was  at 
that  moment  within  the  rebel  stronghold  of  Suchau. 
The  English  officer  had  for  some  weeks  been  making 
preparations  for  an  assault  upon  this  city,  and,  in- 
deed, had  reduced  and  captured  Wukiang,  Kahpu, 
and  other  important  outlying  towns  and  strong 
stockades,  and  but  for  the  jealousies  and  bickerings 
between  Governor  Li,  Ching,  and  himself,  was  in 
excellent  condition  for  making  a  successful  attack 
upon  Suchau.  He  was  still  very  fretful  because  of 
the  apparent  overlording  of  those  to  whom  he  was 
giving  his  valuable  services;  but  the  duplicity  of 
Burgevine  evidently  halted  the  gallant  soldier  in  his 
purpose  of  resigning,  and  we  find  him  returning  to 
his  post  within  a  few  weeks. 

''September — .  —  With  his  many  faults,  his 
pride,  his  temper,  his  tongue,  and  his  never-ending 
demand  for  money,  Gordon  is  a  noble  man,  and,  in 
spite  of  all  I  have  said  to  him  or  about  him,  I  shall 
ever  think  most  highly  of  him.    If  he  would  only 


66         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

scorn  to  pay  any  attention  to  what  Ching  might 
say,  and  forget  about  the  cursed  pay  for  the  troops! 
Damn  them!  They  will  do  nothing  without  pay 
now  but  eat  and  drink  and  sleep;  yes,  and  insult 
innocent  people." 

^^  September  — .  —  I  have  ordered  Ching  to  remain  % 
by  my  side  for  a  time  and  interfere  not  at  all  with 
General  Gordon." 

^^  Septe?nber — .  —  I  gave  Gordon  a  month's  pay 
for  seven  thousand  men  to-day,  and  offered  him  one 
thousand  taels  in  English  coin  for  himself.  He  took 
it  all,  saying  that  he  would  apply  the  latter  upon  the 
pay  of  his  officers.  He  is  an  honest  man,  but  difficult 
to  get  along  with." 

"November  28.  — The  first  serious  defeat  of  the 
'Ever  Victorious  Army'  occurred  last  night  at  the 
Suchau  walls.  More  than  three  hundred  officers  and 
men  were  killed  and  Gordon  had  a  narrow  escape. 
However,  he  is  preparing  for  a  final  assault  upon  the 
city,  and  asks  me  to  prevent  Ching  from  interfering 
with  his  plans.   This  I  will  do." 

"November  29.  —  Ching  understands  that,  while 
he  is  in  command  of  the  Kiangsu  forces,  he  must  not 
attempt  to  thwart  the  plans  of  Gordon  in  our  assault 
upon  Suchau." 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    67 

*^ December  2.  Afternoon.  —  The  Muh  Wang  [lead- 
ing Taiping  general]  was  publicly  assassinated  within 
the  city  to-day.  It  is  glorious  news,  for  it  shows  that 
the  Wangs  are  not  harmonious  among  themselves, 
and  that  our  negotiations  looking  to  the  surrender 
of  the  city  will  be  most  welcome  shortly.  Three 
thousand  women  were  sent  out  of  the  city  to-day  to 
be  fed  by  our  troops,  but  Ching  drove  them  back." 

^^ December  6.  —  Negotiations  for  the  surrender 
of  the  city  being  completed,  I  have  issued  an  order 
granting  pardon  to  the  Wangs  and  a  majority  of 
their  followers.  The  surrender  will  occur  at  three 
o'clock.  Gordon  is  reported  as  personally  visiting  in 
the  city.  I  cannot  see  what  nature  of  business  would 
call  him  to  go  alone  to  carry  on  negotiations  with 
the  Wangs.  Ching  has  declared  time  and  again  that 
Gordon  has  a  secret  understanding  with  the  leaders 
of  the  rebels,  and  even  that  he  has  been  in  communi- 
cation with  the  dastardly  Burgevine.  This  does  not 
look  right  to  me,  but  nevertheless  I  cannot  suspect 
this  man,  who  returned  of  his  own  accord  when  he 
heard  of  Burgevine's  perfidy." 

In  Li  Hung  Chang's  preserved  papers  relating  to 
this  period,  but  three  further  references  are  made 
to  General  Gordon,  —  one  in  the  following  brief 
account  of  the  murder  or  execution  of  the  Wangs  on 
the  night  of  their  surrender  of  Suchau ;  and  another 
written  on  December  29,  in  which  he  says  that  he 


68         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

offered  General  Gordon,  "on  behalf  of  the  Throne," 
a  gold  medal  and  ten  thousand  taels  in  British  coin, 
"but  he  appears  injured  over  the  death  of  the 
Wangs,  and  haughtily  refuses  the  honour  and  the 
gift." 

As  Viceroy  Li,  during  his  famous  tour  of  the  world 
in  1896,  wrote  an  account  of  the  death  of  the  Wangs, 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  supplying  copies  of  it  to 
the  English  press,  in  the  event  that  he  should  be 
questioned  as  to  the  cause  of  the  disagreement 
between  Gordon  and  himself,  it  is  interesting  to  com- 
pare it  —  as  it  appears  in  another  part  of  these 
memoirs  —  with  this  recital  of  the  affair  written  on 
December  8,  1863,  the  morning  following  its  occur- 
rence, by  the  Governor  of  Kiangsu  himself:  — 

'' Suchau.  Governor's  Temporary  Yamen.  —  This 
is  a  city  of  blood  to-day,  as  it  has  been  a  vile  nest  of 
rebellion  and  starvation  for  so  long  a  time.  But  in 
the  midst  of  it  all  I  am  finding  a  peace  of  mind  and 
body  such  as  I  have  not  known  for  years.  A  great 
and  noble  victory  for  the  Throne  has  been  won,  and 
only  a  few  more  battles  will  be  necessary  to  separate 
the  rotten  head  of  this  scourge  from  its  long-decom- 
posing body.  High  credit  will  come  from  the  Court 
for  this  splendid  outcome,  and  Prince  Kung  will  leap 
with  joy  when  he  receives  the  news,  which  is  already 
on  the  way.  Gordon  and  Ching  and  all  the  men 
deserve  high  praise;  but  it  is  a  good  time  that  Gor- 
don's services  be  dispensed  with.   He  is  more  head- 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON  69 

strong  every  hour,  and  by  the  way  he  speaks  of  the 
Wangs  one  would  think  that  they  were  brothers  of 
his. 

"Last  night,  to  please  the  Wangs,  I  invited  them 
to  a  council  of  peace  and  a  banquet,  and  it  was  inter- 
esting the  way  we  settled  old  scores  in  words.  I 
spent,  too,  a  large  sum  upon  the  foods,  and  the  table 
was  well  set.  There  was  much  merriment  and  good- 
nature, and  I,  too,  enjoyed  meeting  these  men  — ■ 
Long-Haired  Rebels  though  they  were.  But  I  made 
a  serious  mistake  in  not  having  a  strong  guard  placed 
about  the  east  gate,  at  which  my  large  boat  was 
lying,  and  before  the  banquet  was  ended  a  great 
horde  of  lawless  fellows,  some  of  them  Imperialists, 
but  a  majority  of  them  drunken  fellows  of  the  Wangs* 
army,  poured  through  the  gate,  killing  and  assault- 
ing. I  was  one  of  the  first  to  hear  the  great  uproar, 
and,  believing  the  marauders  might  be  intent  upon 
dispatching  me,  —  for  threats  had  been  made  in 
many  quarters,  —  I  made  my  escape  from  the  barge 
and  hurriedly  entered  the  city.  Ching  also  managed 
to  escape  from  the  hands  of  the  rioters,  and  followed 
me  to  the  landing  and  into  the  town.  Immediately 
I  sent  orders,  by  officers  we  met,  to  get  troops  as 
soon  as  possible  and  arrest  all  the  rioters;  but  the 
orders  were  not  quickly  obeyed,  and  a  scene  of 
wholesale  slaughter  occurred  upon  the  barge.  I 
must  make  report  of  this  to  Peking;  but  it  is  not 
likely  that  great  sorrow  will  be  felt." 


70         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

^^  Same  Day.  Late.  —  Gordon  came  and  accused 
me  of  plotting  for  the  murder  of  the  Wangs.  I  asked 
him  why  I  should  plot,  or  go  around  a  mountain, 
when  a  mere  order,  written  with  five  strokes  of  the 
quill,  would  have  accomplished  the  same  thing.  He 
did  not  answer.  But  he  insulted  me  and  said  he 
would  report  my  treachery,  as  he  called  it,  to  Shang- 
hai and  England.  Let  him  do  so;  he  cannot  bring 
the  crazy  Wangs  back.  I  am  not  sorry  they  are  gone, 
but  I  regret  the  manner  of  their  going." 

^'Midnight.  — To-morrow  twelve  hundred  of  the 
rebels  will  be  executed.  This  number  will  include 
many  of  the  worst  fiends  and  outragers  of  the  thirty 
thousand.  Some  of  them,  according  to  my  best 
reports,  were  engaged  in  the  murder  of  the  Wangs, 
and  they  were  looking  for  me." 

(Without  date.)  —  "I  have  received  the  highest 
praises  from  Peking,  and  Prince  Kung  says  that  I 
may  look  for  a  good  promotion  before  many  moons. 
He  sends  earnest  congratulations  to  Gordon  and 
Ching.  To  the  former  I  am  to  offer  a  gold  medal 
direct  from  the  sacred  Throne,  and  ten  thousand 
taels  in  English  gold." 

(Without  date.)  —  "General  Gordon  called  upon 
me  in  his  angriest  mood.  He  repeated  his  former 
speeches  about  the  Wangs.  I  did  not  attempt  to 
argue  with   him,  or  even   to  explain   the  circum- 


RELATIONS  WITH  GENERAL  GORDON    71 

stances,  as  I  have  done  this  before.  He  refused  the 
ten  thousand  taels,  which  I  had  ready  for  him,  and, 
with  an  oath,  said  that  he  did  not  want  the  Throne's 
medal.  This  is  showing  the  greatest  disrespect,  and 
I  shall  memorialise  the  Throne  to  let  him  seek  other 
service." 


CHAPTER  IV 

AT  THE   SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN  FI 

"Peking,  February  24,  1873.  —  Last  night,  In  all 
the  excitement  and  turmoil  of  the  new  order  [the 
Viceroy  refers  to  the  assumption  of  government  by 
the  young  Emperor  T'ung-Chih,  of  whom  he  writes 
interestingly  in  another  part  of  these  memoirs], 
Her  Majesty  the  Empress  Dowager  [Tze  Hsi]  sent 
for  me,  and  asked  with  some  emotion  if  I  had  made 
any  offerings  at  the  temples  or  shrines,  because  of 
the  happy  outcome  of  events. 

"And  I  said,  bowing  lower  than  the  officials  then 
present,  though  in  rank  I  was  above  any  of  that 
number:  — 

"'Yes,  Most  Glorious  Empress,  at  many,  but  all 
of  them  in  spirit  alone;  for,  as  Your  Majesty  is 
aware,  I  have,  ever  since  my  arrival  at  the  Front 
Gate,  been  happy  to  attend  to  those  duties  Your 
Majesty  has  been  gracious  enough  to  honour  me 
with.' 

"To  this  she  replied:  — 

"'Yes,  Excellency,  these  things  I  know,  and, 
knowing,  thank  you  for.  But  I  will  now  give  you  a 
great  command,  greater  than  any  man  has  ever 
received  from  his  Empress.' 

"I  waited  a  long  time,  bowing  low,  though  not 
quite  prostrate,  for  I  was  then  privileged  in  audience 


AT  THE  SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN  FI    73 

without  abasement  [without  lying  face  downward, 
prone  upon  the  tapestry  of  the  audience  marble]. 
I  wondered  if  the  Illustrious  One  was  to  command 
that  of  my  own  personal  valour  and  devotion  I  was 
to  perform  a  deed  of  some  darkness.  To  me,  but 
five  nights  before  the  full  coming  to  the  Throne  of 
T'ung-Chih,  the  Empress  had  intimated  a  certain 
wish,  the  fulfilling  of  which  she  might  command  me. 

*  *  Without  asking  what  that  desire  might  be  — 
for  secretly  I  knew  it  well  —  I  had  answered  her 
that  my  life  was  hers  most  gladly,  and  that  the 
more  trying  the  sacrifice  the  greater  would  be  my 
happiness.  At  that  time  she  had  said:  'You  are  a 
loyal  subject  of  your  word,  Excellency,  and  you  have 
many  of  them.' 

"This  quip  of  Her  Majesty's  pleased  me  greatly, 
for  in  these  times  she  is  not  over-humorous  even 
with  those  whom  she  most  highly  regards. 

'"Are  you  of  full  acquaintance  with  the  Lady 
Yuen  Fi?'  Her  Majesty  asked  after  long  waiting. 

"It  was  unnecessary  for  the  Empress  so  to  ques- 
tion me,  and  without  awaiting  a  reply  she  continued: 

'"Go  between  this  hour  and  the  same  hour  not 
later  than  two  nights  hence  and  make  for  me  a 
great  prayer  at  the  shrine  of  Yuen  Fi.  Your  Excel- 
lency has  beautiful  words  and  calm  thoughts,  even 
in  the  times  of  complexity;  and  I  need  not  direct 
you  what  to  say.  You  may  leave  the  Presence  now, 
but  before  you  do,  you  may  look  full  upon  the  form 
of  your  Empress.' 


74         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

"  I  arose  with  pleasure  in  my  heart,  and  it  was 
truly  with  a  great  joy  that  I  looked  upon  the  figure 
of  Her  Majesty.  She  had  arisen  from  her  seat  of 
Heavenly  Grace,  and  I  knew  that  she  was  proud  of 
the  exquisite  attire  of  yellow  silk  and  yellow  gold 
in  which  she  was  arrayed. 

"'May  I  crave  a  word.  Most  Illustrious  Queen?' 
I  asked,  looking  into  her  smiling  face. 

"She  gave  assent. 

"'My  prayer  to  the  Great  Lady  Yuen  Fi  will  be 
the  holier  and  more  joyful  that  I  have  seen  Your 
Majesty  arrayed  in  the  garments  Her  Ladyship 
invented.* 

"My  words,  I  was  sure,  highly  pleased  the 
Empress,  and  I  withdrew. 

"Therefore,  this  night  at  the  hour  of  the  silk- 
worm, I  repaired  to  the  temple  of  Yuen  Fi,  and 
offered  up  my  devotions  to  that  great  one  in  our 
history,  whose  art  and  industry  wrought  so  much 
for  the  noble  women  of  our  land,  and  caused  the 
mouths  of  many  millions  of  people  to  be  filled  through 
the  labours  they  performed. 

"I  went  to  the  temple  with  but  one  secretary  of 
my  household  and  the  bearers  of  my  chair,  and  upon 
arriving  I  gave  orders  at  once  that  the  entire  place 
be  cleared  of  worshippers  for  the  space  of  eighty 
minutes.  Many  worshippers  had  been  in  attendance 
at  the  shrine  for  several  days,  for  the  anniversary 
time  of  the  taking  of  the  name  was  at  hand." 

[Li  Hung  Chang  here  intimates,  quite  asserts. 


AT  THE  SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN   FI     75 

that  the  name  of  China  —  derived  from  the  ancient 
Mongol  Sin,  silk  —  was  selected  at  a  certain  known 
time;  but  in  another  place  in  his  writings,  "The 
Domain  of  the  Sin,"  he  confesses  that  he  cannot  find 
authority  for  any  statement  of  fact  in  this  relation. 
—  The  Editor.] 

''The  chief  keeper  of  the  temple  was  abashed  and 
surprised  upon  hearing  my  order,  which  was  carried 
by  the  household  secretary  to  one  of  the  assistants, 
and  he  came  and  sought  me  personally  outside  the 
entrance. 

" '  In  truth  I  could  not  believe  it  was  Your  Excel- 
lency that  had  arrived  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  Great 
Lady  Yuen  Fi,  and  I  almost  doubted  my  secretary's 
words.  But  if  you  will  have  the  temple  cleared,  the 
while  I  will  give  orders  to  have  this  done,  will  Your 
Excellency  be  so  gracious  as  to  inform  his  humble 
servant  the  reason  for  this  order? ' 

"'No!'  I  replied.    'The  order  is  sufficient.' 

"With  this  he  went  away  quickly,  after  mumbling 
apologies;  but  I  knew  he  was  not  pleased.  Instead, 
I  am  certain  he  was  much  annoyed  by  my  action, 
for  I  had  heard  that  in  the  preceding  days  he  had 
sought  and  obtained  large  numbers  of  tolls  from 
those  who  came  to  lay  their  gifts  and  their  hearts 
at  the  feet  of  Lady  Yuen  Fi ;  and  at  this  hour,  as  it 
transpired,  he  was  entertaining  with  a  feast  a  large 
number  of  his  family  and  friends  in  a  part  of  the 
temple. 

"Whatever  his  feelings  in  the  matter,  it  was  soon 


76         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

apparent  that  the  order  was  being  put  into  effect, 
for  the  worshippers  came  quickly  from  the  place, 
and  sought  their  homes  or  stood  without.  Then, 
in  a  time  long  enough  to  try  one's  patience,  but  suffi- 
ciently brief  if  one  had  many  hours  and  days  to  spare 
in  idleness,  this  official  of  the  temple  returned  to 
where  I  still  remained  outside  the  entrance,  and 
informed  me  that  the  place  was  vacant. 

"I  went  to  the  door  and  saw  that  he  spoke  the 
truth.  Then  I  entered,  closed  the  entrance-way 
behind  me,  and  went  to  the  sacred  shrine  of  Yuen  Fi. 

"  I  remained  eighty  minutes  and  ten,  alone  and 
undisturbed,  with  the  spirit  of  that  beautiful  Queen 
of  Industry,  to  whom  I  had  been  sent  to  speak  by  the 
Empress  Dowager.  During  the  eighty  minutes  I 
offered  thanks  and  prayer  and  praise  in  behalf  of 
the  Empress,  and  the  remaining  time  I  spoke  for 
Li  Hung  Chang;  and  all  I  said  will  ever  remain  in 
my  memory,  for  they  were  not  common  words  that 
I  uttered,  but  heavenly  ones  borne  away  to  the 
heavenly  land,  where  round  about  the  Lady  of  the 
Sin  so  many  who  loved  her  art  and  her  industry, 
and  were  made  beautiful  or  wealthy  by  it,  are  her 
subjects. 

*'I  returned  once  again  to  the  palace  from  the 
shrine,  but  the  hour  was  very  late,  and  I  entered  only 
the  Outer  Gate,  returning  then  to  my  own  abode." 

On  the  following  day  this  note  is  found :  — 

"I  am  incensed  at  the  action  of  the  chief  keeper 


AT  THE  SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN   FI     ^^ 

of  the  shrine.  Such  inquisitiveness  in  a  mere  salaried 
official  (one  who  is  known  to  help  himself  to  gift 
offerings  and  tolls  as  well)  is  an  affront  I  do  not 
propose  to  forget.  His  uncalled-for  and  impertinent 
manner  did  not  interfere  with  my  devotions  last 
night,  for  I  represented  Her  Majesty,  and  his  affront 
was  to  me  personally,  not  her.  But  to-day,  when  I 
am  preparing  a  copy  of  the  prayer  to  send  to  the 
Empress,  I  am  hampered  in  my  work  by  the  thoughts 
of  this  petty  official.  Yet  the  words  I  uttered  are  so 
plain  to  me  that  only  the  mechanical  part  is  made 
difficult." 

"  February  26.  Hour  of  the  Sheep.  —  It  is  a  satis- 
faction to  accomplish  things.  The  keeper  Jun  came 
to  see  me  a  time  ago  to  beg  that  his  place  might  not 
be  taken  from  him.  I  told  him  I  had  nothing  to  do 
with  his  affairs,  and  did  not  care  to  be  troubled  with 
small  men  or  matters.  He  went  away  with  tears  in 
his  voice,  and  will  not  come  back.  He  should  have 
known  better  than  to  come  in  the  first  place,  for 
after  I  had  sent  in  to  the  Board  my  word  of  dis- 
approval of  him,  he  would  have  to  be  a  very  changed 
man,  and  a  good  one,  to  cause  me  to  seek  his  reap- 
pointment." 

^^  February  27. — To-day  I  had  audience  with 
both  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  and  the  Empress 
Dowager.  The  young  Emperor,  now  a  man  in  years, 
and,  I  hope,  in  the  things  he  may  accomplish,  is 


78         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

deeply  elated  when  he  contemplates  his  greater 
growth.  I  believe  that  kings,  as  other  individuals, 
like  to  feel  that  the  world,  which  they  ofttimes  pre- 
tend to  despise,  looks  upon  them  as  being  past  the 
immature  age. 

"The  Dowager  appeared  in  the  lovely  dress  of 
three  nights  ago,  when  she  gave  me  the  unusual 
mission.  This,  she  explained,  was  to  show  me  appre- 
ciation of  the  prayer  I  had  uttered  on  her  behalf  to 
the  Queen  of  the  Sin,  a  copy  of  which,  written  largely 
by  myself,  on  silk  pages  decorated  long  ago  by  Fen-lo, 
was  sent  her  at  an  early  hour  for  Her  Majesty's 
perusal. 

'"You  must  not  claim  it  as  your  own;  it  is  too 
beautiful  even  for  the  Metropolitan  Viceroy  to 
indite,'  she  said  happily. 

"His  Majesty  smiled,  but  he  did  not  speak. 

"To  Her  Majesty's  words  I  replied  that  I  could 
not  claim,  if  I  spoke  the  truth,  the  prayer  to  be  my 
own,  for  it  was  not.  The  prayer  for  eighty  minutes 
was  Her  Majesty's,  I  told  her;  inspired  by  Her 
Majesty,  coming  from  Her  Majesty's  heart  and  hers 
alone. 

"'But,  your  most  gracious  Majesty,'  I  said,  'the 
Viceroy,  your  most  abject  servant,  followed  with  a 
prayer  of  his  own  for  the  space  of  a  brief  time;  and 
if  you  will  allow  I  shall  beg  the  sublime  privilege  of 
sending  you  a  transcription  of  my  own  weak  and 
humble  effort.  Your  Majesty  had  spoken  with  such 
eloquence  and  flowers  of  language  to  the  Great  Lady 


AT  THE  SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN   FI      79 

Yuen  Fi  that  my  own  effort  must  needs  have  been 
a  mere  school-boy  attempt  in  comparison.' 

"'You  are  loyal  and  generous,  Li  Hung  Chang,* 
said  the  Dowager,  *  but  send  me  a  copy  of  your  own, 
for  I  doubt  not  it  is  even  as  exquisite  as  mine.' 

"  Having  a  copy  with  me,  but  written  in  common 
characters  and  upon  silvered  paper,  I  presented  it 
with  apologies  to  her. 

"But  she  only  glanced  at  the  paper  and  returned 
it  to  me. 

"'Your  Excellency  is  too  modest,'  she  said. 
'Engross  the  words  on  five  thicknesses  of  imperial 
silk  and  send  them  to  me.*" 

The  following  is  without  date,  but  evidently  was 
written  some  weeks  later  at  Li's  official  yamen  at 
Tientsin.  The  paper  was  one  among  a  number  en- 
closed in  a  steel  figured  box,  all  of  them  relating  to 
persons  and  events  associated  closely  with  the  pro- 
claiming of  the  Joint  Government,  at  the  Emperor's 
coming  to  his  majority.  The  document  itself  is  of 
heavy  silvered  paper,  badly  worn  from  folding,  and 
soiled  from  handling,  and  several  lines  are  missing. 
It  is  quite  evident  that  this  was  the  identical  paper 
presented  to  Tze  Hsi,  and  which  she  returned  to 
him  as  an  indication  of  her  belief  in  his  over-modesty. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the 
silver  paper  manuscript,  wholly  literary  (and  reli- 
gious) in  its  nature,  and  in  a  certain  sense  chiefly 
of  personal  interest  to  the  writer  —  at  least  at  that 


8o         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

time  and  in  the  years  following  —  gave  evidence  of 
much  "thumbing,"  while  a  score  of  documents  of 
considerable  political  importance  were,  in  some 
instances,  clean  and  unsoiled. 


A  HUMBLE  MAN'S  VOICE 

To  Thee,  O  Ancestor  of  the  Silken  World, 
a  humble  man,  with  face  to  earth, 
which  thou  didst  bless  and  make  glad, 
asks  of  thee  in  all  the  humility  of 
his  soul  to  hear  his  prayer  of  praise 
and  petition. 

To  Thee,  O  Ancestor  of  a  Noble  Work, 
it  is  not  given  that  thou  shouldst 
hearken  unto  my  words,  for  in  the 
celestial  world  of  the  Seven  Springs 
a  million  millions  of  them  that  drew 
from  thee  on  earth  the  breath  of  their 
souls  and  the  food  of  their  bodies  are 
now  thy  meekest  servants  and  subjects; 
and  the  voices  of  their  praise  must 
ring  so  loud  and  sweet  to  thine  ears 
that  these  rough  words  of  mine  are 
but  as  jarring  sounds  of  discord. 

To  Thee,  O  Gladsome  Queen  of  a  Gladsome  Art, 
it  cannot  be  known  that  one  so  poor 
and  miserable  as  I  doth  even  in  thy 
loved  land  exist,  much  less  that  thy  most 
degraded  petitioner  did  in  all  his  days 
honour  and  praise  thy  name,  sing  thy  glories, 
pray  for  them  that  prayed  to  thee,  thought 
by  day  and  dreamed  by  night  of  all  the 
vast  goodness  thou  didst  bestow  upon 
this  Flowery  Land. 


AT  THE  SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN  FI    8i 

But,  O  Transcendent  Lady  of  the  Ancient  Sin, 
I,  thy  miserable  petitioner,  did,  when 
a  boy,  labour  among  the  trees  of  the 
mulberry,  feed  with  tender  care  the 
creatures  thou  didst  teach  to  spin, 
threaded  from  their  shells  the  divine 
gleams  which  thou  taughtest  to  produce, 
wove  with  mine  own  hands  the  silken 
strands  of  thy  invention,  and  made  into 
great  widths  and  breadths  the  shimmering 
fabric  which  is  the  glory  of  the  world. 

Yet,  O  Yuen  Fi,  Goddess  of  the  Golden  Weave, 
all,  all  the  words  of  this  most  humble 
man  are  true ;  as  true  as  ever  lowly  one 
did  vouch  to  speak  to  one  exalted  high. 

And  now,  Yuen  Fi,  Lady  of  the  Blessed  Silk, 
I  crave  that  thou  wilt  think  of  me  in 
thy  celestial  sphere ;  that  to  the  holy 
ones  forgathered  there,  thou  wilt  but 
speak  a  kindly  word  and  say  that  here 
upon  the  sordid  earth,  which  thou  alone 
didst  beautify,  there  lives  a  humble  man  of 
poor  renown,  who,  in  all  the  hours  of  all 
his  days  did  strive  and  toil  by  sweat  of  face 
and  tire  of  brain  to  do  thy  bidding  in  the 
silken  fields;  who  ,  .  . 

[Lines  obliterated] 

My  prayer,  O  Heavenly  One,  O  Goddess  Rare, 
though  I  would  speak  to  thee  the  whole 
night  through,  in  pain  I  do  make  brief; 
for  well  I  know  that  in  that  High  Beyond 
this  voice  of  mine  can  hold  no  charm. 
But  now  again  of  thee  I  fain  would  ask : 
that  in  this  hour  of  darkest  night  a 
newer  blessing  thou  wilt  give  to  all  that 
work  in  arts  of  thine ;  bless  them  that 


82         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

harvest  in  the  fields,  bless  thou  the 
silkworms'  rounded  home,  bless  them  that 
toil  at  factory  loom,  bless  them  that  mart 
thy  precious  weave,  bless  them  that  sail 
the  far  salt  seas  and  take  thy  goods  to 
foreign  shore;  bless  them  that  on  their 
bodies  fair  —  in  Indies  and  the  far  beyond, 
the  lands  of  Europe  and  the  West,  in  every 
isle,  in  every  clime,  in  cold  and  heat,  in 
shine  and  rain,  in  mountain  home  and  valley 
mild,  in  palace  rich  and  humble  cot,  — 
where'er,  O  Mighty  Sun-Loved  Queen,  thy 
name  is  thought  or  heard  or  sung,  send 
down  thy  blessings  like  the  dew ! 


Editor's  Special  Note.  —  In  three  distinct  places 
in  his  memoirs,  each  of  them  written  some  years 
later  when  Li  Hung  Chang  was  holding  the  highest 
offtce  in  the  empire,  that  of  Grand  Secretary  of  State 
and  President  of  the  Council,  he  makes  mention  of 
the  giving  of  orders  by  himself  for  the  rich  engrossing 
and  wide  distribution  of  "Her  Glorious  and  Illus- 
trious Majesty's  exquisite  'Prayer-Song  to  the 
Goddess  Yuen  Fi,'  to  the  end  that  the  people  every- 
where within  the  realm  may  not  alone  learn  more  of 
the  great  deity  of  the  silk,  but  that  the  art  and  indus- 
try which  is  so  dearly  beloved  of  our  country  may 
be  encouraged  to  greater  growth  and  prosperity." 

It  appears,  from  an  examination  of  the  Book  of 
Records  at  the  palace,  that  the  Empress  Dowager  is 
credited  with  the  uttering  of  the  "Prayer-Song  to 
the  Goddess  Yuen  Fi"  and  its  transcription;  and  it 
further  appears  that  inasmuch  as  Her  Majesty  was 


AT  THE  SHRINE  OF  LADY  YUEN  FI    83 

very  jealous  of  her  literary  ability  —  which,  en 
passant,  all  authorities  agree  was  of  no  mean  order 
—  the  imperial  claim  to  the  authorship  of  the 
"Prayer-Song"  was  never  questioned. 

It  is  certain  that  during  his  lifetime  Li  Hung 
Chang  never  publicly  asserted  his  authorship  of  the 
"Prayer-Song,"  which  he  took  such  pains  to  order 
printed  and  distributed,  and  to  which  he  refers  in  one 
of  his  published  orders  as  "the  immortal  words  of 
the  greatest  of  living  women  to  the  most  glorious 
and  sacred  woman  of  the  ancestors." 

In  the  careful  examination  and  translation  of  the 
Viceroy's  memoirs,  including  the  great  mass  of  pub- 
lic documents,  letters,  and  other  papers,  no  manu- 
script of  a  "prayer"  or  "song,"  other  than  the  fore- 
going, was  found,  although  diligent  effort  was  made 
with  that  end  in  view;  and  while  there  can  be  little 
if  any  doubt  that  he  was  the  writer  of  the  "  Prayer- 
Song  to  the  Goddess  Yuen  Fi,"  and  a  copy  of  it 
might  very  appropriately  and  rightly  be  reproduced 
in  these  pages,  yet  the  fact  that  it  is  common  enough 
throughout  China,  coupled  with  the  inability  of  the 
researchers  and  translators  to  discover  even  a  dupli- 
cate of  it  among  the  Viceroy's  papers,  as  well  as  the 
further  consideration  that  the  "Prayer-Song"  ren- 
dered into  English  would  cover  ten  or  twelve  book 
pages,  make  its  omission  at  least  a  not  serious  defect. 

There  is,  however,  at  least  to  serious  literary  men 
in  China,  as  well  as  in  Europe  and  America,  another 
and  far  more  important  consideration,  particularly 


84         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

since  the  "Prayer-Song"  is  declared  by  Oriental 
scholars  to  be  a  work  of  great  merit,  and  as  of  late 
years  Li  Hung  Chang  has  become  known  as  not 
only  a  great  statesman  and  diplomat  and  the  richest 
man  of  his  country,  but  a  writer  whose  untiring 
work  and  high  scholarship  are  bound  eventually  to 
give  him  front  rank  among  the  literati  of  his  age. 


CHAPTER  V 

IN  THE  TIME  OF  FAMINE 

^'November  30,  1877.  —  No  man  in  his  heart  will 
ever  wish  for  a  recurrence  of  the  famine  of  this  year, 
even  though  he  be  a  hater  of  every  person  in  the 
land  except  himself.  If  I  live  to  be  twice  my  present 
age,  I  do  not  expect  to  wipe  out  from  my  sight  the 
terrible  pictures  of  hunger  and  despair  that  I  have 
witnessed  in  so  many  parts  of  the  north.  The  Govern- 
ment has  not  as  yet  all  the  facts  and  figures,  but  from 
my  own  estimates  I  believe  that  fully  7,000,000 
people  have  perished  for  lack  of  food. 

"  In  such  times  as  these  a  man  wishes  that  he  might 
be  the  whole  Government,  or  of  such  tremendous 
wealth  that  he  might  purchase  food  for  the  many 
who  hunger.  Even  a  meal  of  millet  or  vegetables 
every  two  or  three  days  will  keep  a  man  alive,  and  if 
he  can  live  long  enough  succour  is  bound  to  come. 

''  My  own  purse,  during  these  trying  times,  I  have 
opened  almost  as  widely  as  it  will  bear;  but  the 
amount  of  food  purchased  thereby  is  as  a  handful  of 
grain  to  a  flock  of  crows.  Still,  it  is  a  very  great 
satisfaction  to  know  that  thousands  of  hungry 
stomachs  have  been  at  least  partially  satisfied  during 
these  awful  months.  My  men  report  to  me  that  from 
one  to  two  thousand  are  being  fed  on  my  corn  and 
vegetables  in  the  city  [Tientsin]  alone,  while  I  am 


86         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

trying  to  feed  five  thousand  in  the  near-by  villages. 
My  mother,  who  has  never  known  want  or  misery 
of  a  like  nature  in  her  family,  is  blessing  me  every 
day  for  this  work;  and  she  says  the  gods  as  well  as 
the  people  will  not  forget  that  my  wealth,  such  as  I 
have,  is  not  withheld  from  the  poor  and  needy." 

THE  SAD  SIGHT  OF  THE   HUNGRY 

*T  WOULD  please  me,  gods,  if  you  would  spare 
Mine  eyes  from  all  this  hungry  stare 
That  fills  the  face  and  eyes  of  men 
Who  search  for  food  o'er  hill  and  glen. 

Their  eyes  are  orbs  of  dullest  fire, 
As  if  the  flame  would  mount  up  higher; 
But  in  the  darkness  of  their  glow 
We  know  the  fuel  's  burning  low. 

Such  looks,  O  gods,  are  not  from  thee ! 

No,  they're  the  stares  of  misery! 
They  speak  of  hunger's  frightful  hold 
On  lips  a-dry  and  stomachs  cold. 

"  Bread,  bread! "  they  cry,  these  weary  men, 
With  wives  and  children  from  the  glen! 
O,  they  would  toil  the  live-long  day 
But  for  a  meal,  their  lives  to  stay. 

But  where  is  it  in  all  the  land? 
Unless  the  gods  with  gen'rous  hand 
Send  sweetsome  rice  and  strength 'ning  corn 
To  these  vast  crowds  to  hunger  born ! 

For  months  the  awful  famine  beast 

Has  roamed  the  lands  both  North  and  East, 

And  smiled  as  he  on  landscape  read 

The  gruesome  figures  of  the  dead. 


IN  THE  TIME  OF  FAMINE  87 

His  black  claws  clutched  the  stalwart  man, 
The  very  headmen  of  each  clan, 
The  elder  sons  and  younger  ones, 
Nor  e'en  the  baby's  cradle  shuns. 

In  all  the  fields  along  the  road. 
In  each  and  every  mean  abode, 
He  stops  to  grin  in  hellish  way 
At  famished  forms  turned  quick  to  clay. 

The  greater  are  the  awful  pains, 
And  if  the  tears  do  fall  as  rains, 
This  monster  demon  smiles  the  more 
While  passing  by  each  hungry  door. 

He  crosses  now  the  bone-dry  streams, 
And  listens  to  the  frantic  screams 
Of  those  who  on  the  mountain  high 
Are  doomed  this  awful  death  to  die. 

In  valley  and  on  sandy  plain 
The  beast  appears,  again,  again! 
In  city  and  in  village  street, 
Where'er  you  go,  the  beast  you  meet! 

A  million  now  have  bowed  to  him, 
This  famine  monster,  black  and  grim! 
O,  gods,  we  ask,  remove  the  brand 
Of  this  vile  demon's  bony  hand ! 


CHAPTER  VI 

DEVOTION  TO  AGRICULTURE 

In  more  than  twoscore  places  of  his  translated 
memoirs,  the  Viceroy  mentions  agriculture  as  a  dis- 
tinct science  to  be  cared  for  for  its  own  sake,  and, 
though  ever  asserting  that  he  is  above  all  things  one 
of  the  literati,  he  devotes  more  space  and  words  to 
the  apotheosis  of  agriculture  than  to  the  glory  of 
literature.  Yet  this  may  be  satisfactorily  explained 
by  these  lines,  written  in  his  diary  at  Tientsin  in 

1879:  — 

"One  of  the  officers  of  the  Summer  Palace  of  the 

Royal  Blood,  who  has  been  reading  my  high  essay 
on  the  Divine  Husbandman,  declares  that  I  must  in 
very  heart  be  more  of  a  tiller  of  the  soil  than  a  liter- 
ary man ;  for  he  told  me  (without  flattery,  I  believe) 
that  he  never  had  held  so  high  an  opinion  of  the  great 
Shen  Nung  as  when  he  had  finished  reading  my 
words.  But  he  went  on  to  say  that  if  I  were  more 
devoted  to  literature  I  should  never  have  written 
such  a  beautiful  eulogy ;  and  he  wanted  to  know  why 
I  had  passed  over  Mencius  and  Confucius. 

"This  caused  me  to  be  much  amused,  and  I  went 
on  and  explained  that  literature  did  not  need  to  pay 
repects  to  itself;  that  such  a  thing  would  be  seem- 
ingly selfish,  for  its  highest  aim  was  by  the  uses  of 
its  own  beautiful  weapons  of  brain  and  colours  and 


DEVOTION  TO  AGRICULTURE  89 

papers  to  exalt  the  other  arts  and  sciences  of  man- 
kind that  were  not  able  thus  to  speak. 

"As  we  discussed  the  matter  further,  I  tried  to 
explain  that  the  great  philosopher  and  the  great 
writer  reared  their  own  monuments  so  nobly  that 
any  attempts  of  mine  to  lift  their  names  would  be 
not  only  a  waste  of  time,  but  perhaps  would  be 
resented  by  such  persons  as  would  consider  me  only 
a  minor  authority.  But  with  Shen  Nung,  could  I  not 
see  his  beauties  and  blessings  all  about,  and  yet  hear 
no  great  voice  in  praise  of  him? 

"And  so  he  went  away  satisfied;  but  not  so  with 
me,  for  he  did  not  give  over  into  my  keeping  the 
manuscript  he  had  read  with  such  great  pleasure. 
It  was  so  nicely  painted  and  scrolled  (in  as  many  as 
eight  colours,  done  by  my  former  writers  of  the 
Chi-lin  family)  that  I  was  to  have  it  hung  about  the 
walls,  piece  by  piece. 

"But  I  have  some  other  copies,  and  to-night  I 
shall  take  joy  in  reading  to  the  household  this  piece 
of  mental  work,  of  which  I  have  always  been  so 
proud." 

It  does  not  appear  from  the  Viceroy's  documents 
just  when  he  composed  the  Shen  Nung  Tribute,  as 
he  calls  it,  for  several  different  copies  —  found  at 
Tientsin  as  well  as  at  Canton  —  have  different  dates 
attached.  One  of  them,  a  carefully  engrossed  copy 
found  at  the  latter  city,  bears  date  of  October  12, 
1869,  or  about  ten  years  after  his  mention  of  it  at 


90         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

such  length  as  has  just  been  told.   This  is  a  careful 
version  of  it :  — 

MY  SHEN  NUNC  TRIBUTE 

{Written  by  me  from  my  Proud  Heart) 

When  I  sit  down  and  reflect, 

And  let  my  mind  and  my  soul  tell  me  of  things  so  true, 

I  know  that  thou, 

Most  glorious  and  sublime  Shen  Nung, 

Art  the  great  helper  of  our  people; 

The  wonderful  provider  of  the  world ; 

The  hope  of  them  that  have  not  mines, 

Nor  great  stores,  nor  forests  of  hardwood. 

But  all  our  wealth  comes  from  thee: 

All  the  funds  of  our  banks. 

All  the  strength  of  the  Government, 

All  the  force  of  our  national  progress, 

All  the  muscle  of  our  people, 

The  beauty  of  our  women. 

The  hard  sinews  of  the  workers. 

The  strong  brain  of  the  banker, 

The  level  head  of  the  statesman, 

The  shrewdness  of  the  diplomat. 

The  right  arm  of  the  Throne. 

(There  must  always  be  good  blood  there.) 

We  work  in  the  fields: 

In  the  rice, 

In  the  millet. 

In  the  corn, 

In  the  poppy.    (The  poppy  is  wrong.) 

We  work  in  the  vegetables, 

In  the  grain. 

And  all  that  is  good  for  man. 

But  't  is  not  for  their  sake  alone, 

'T  is  that  by  bringing  them  to  fruition  we  raise 


DEVOTION  TO  AGRICULTURE  91 

A  Nation, 

A  People, 

The  Middle  Kingdom! 

And  when  we  do  this 

We  are  pleasing  the  Ancestors. 

Shen  Nung, 

You  did  not  teach  us  mean  arts. 

You  did  not  show  us  the  way  to  cheat  our  friends, 

Our  brothers, 

Our  townsmen, 

Our  officials, 

Even  our  enemies. 

You  did  not  tell  us  that  we  should  live  by  sloth, 

Nor  smart  games. 

Nor  subterfuge. 

Therefore, 

This  day,  when  I  am  called  to  go  to  the  North, 

When  vast  affairs  of  state  speak  to  me. 

When  some  might  think  I  should  be  preparing  for  my 

journey, 
I  am  here  saying  these  things 
To  Shen  Nung. 

Even  when  I  was  a  little  boy, 

When  my  father  laboured. 

When  my  mother  scolded. 

When  there  were  mean  times  in  the  village. 

And  I  was  almost  tired  of  living; 

I  thought  of  thee,  Shen  Nung  — 

And  the  green  grain  thou  gavest, 

The  yellow  corn  so  rich  in  bread, 

The  nodding  wheat  that  gives  colour  to  the  blood, 

The  vegetables  that  give  strength  to  the  bone. 

You  taught  us  all  these  things, 

You  made  them  ours, 

You  made  them  beautiful,  and  gave  them  to  us. 

You  bade  our  land  be  fertile,  the  soil  in  which  they  grow. 


92         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

Because  you  smiled,  the  winds  blew  fair, 

The  sweet  rains  came  like  drops  of  glory, 

The  sunshine  did  not  hurt, 

The  moon  told  the  crops  to  keep  growing, 

The  stars  blessed  each  head  of  grain. 

The  dews  dropped  their  blessings 

On  the  corn  and  the  vegetables. 

And  made  them  glad, 

For  the  people's  sake. 

You  taught  the  golden  sun  to  shine, 

The  night  to  be  cool  and  refreshing, 

The  air  to  be  sweet  and  to  soothe, 

The  trees  to  hold  back  the  storm, 

The  grain  to  bow  its  heads  to  meet  the  blast. 

I  see  in  your  art, 

Shen  Nung, 

The  message  of  ages, 

And  ages  of  sweet  thinking. 

I  see  your  blessings  conceived. 

Increased,  and  multiplied. 

I  feel  the  countless  hours  of  thought  you  have  given 

To  make  something 

So  grand  and  glorious  for  the  world. 

You  did  not  sleep. 

You  did  not  rest. 

You  did  not  tire, 

You  did  not  stop, 

Until  all  this 

Was  ready  to  be  placed  upon  the  head  of  man 

For  his  everlasting  blessing. 

As  though  you  had  spun 
The  finest  silk 
And  hung  it  there  — 
A  rainbow! 


DEVOTION  TO  AGRICULTURE  93 

It  would  appear  that  at  still  another  time,  just 
previous  to  a  journey  to  Peking,  the  Viceroy  made  a 
pilgrimage  in  state  to  the  shrine  of  the  great  Patron 
of  Husbandry,  for  this  dissertation  is  found :  — 

"  In  a  few  days  I  shall  be  going  north  again  on  a 
mission  of  international  import;  but  to-day  I  could 
not  forbear  paying  a  part  of  the  honours  due  to  ever 
great  and  glorious  Shen  Nung. 

"Yesterday  I  summoned  all  the  persons  I  desired 
for  the  ceremony,  and  to-day  we  Tilled  the  Soil  at 
the  Temple.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  royalties  at 
Peking  thought  I  would  start  right  away  upon  the 
receipt  of  a  message,  but  to  me  the  Divine  Husband- 
man is  more  than  local  or  transitory  things,  for  he 
gave  us  something  that  means  the  good  of  our  people ; 
the  good  of  all  the  world,  I  should  say,  for  all  time. 

"  Last  year,  at  this  season,  I  sent  a  poetic  memorial 
to  the  Throne,  and  at  the  same  time  wrote  an  essay 
which  I  hope  will  live  along  with  the  works  of 
Mencius.  Both  of  them  were  dedicated  to  the  Divine 
Husbandman,  and  I  look  for  the  time  when  the  last 
one  will  be  read  in  all  the  universities  of  the  world. 
[This  probably  refers  to  the  Tribute.] 

"Some  people  might  think  that  it  was  in  my  offi- 
cial capacity  only  that  I  went  to-day  beyond  the 
East  Gate  to  the  temple.  Yes,  let  us  agree  that  it 
might  have  been  so;  for  the  man  in  office,  especially 
in  high  position,  is  called  upon  to  show  good  example. 

"It  is  wrong  for  any  man  to  commit  sin  with 
daughters  of  other  men  when  he  has  no  licence  to 


94         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

do  so ;  but  it  is  a  grievous  wrong  for  an  official  to  do 
these  things,  because  he  is  watched  by  thousands, 
and  his  actions  are  approved  by  those  who  would  do 
likewise.  It  is  this  way:  When  a  low  man  has  no 
right  to  do  a  thing  (but  does  it),  he  is  ever  ready  and 
willing  to  cite  the  example  of  some  individual  who 
is  of  high  estate.  He  seems  to  assume  that  such  a 
one  of  great  office  is  a  kind  of  god  who  may  be  emu- 
lated —  even  when  in  his  own  soul  he  knows  that 
emulation  is  crime.  Great  men  disagree  with  each 
other  in  such  matters,  but  the  common  herd  only 
follow  like  sheep  when  a  man  of  parts  commits 
folly. 

"Again,  we  know  that  the  low  and  common  herd 
are  for  ever  saying  among  themselves :  Are  there  not 
greater  wrongs  found  among  the  high  than  among 
the  low?  Do  not  the  mandarins  steal  more  than  the 
boatmen?  Are  we  not  for  ever  hearing  of  scandals 
even  at  the  Swan's  Lake  [probably  refers  to  the  For- 
bidden City],  and  fewer  in  the  river  gutters? 

"Thus  we  know  the  meaner  in  mind  and  in  pocket 
speak  of  those  of  exalted  position.  We  know,  I  say, 
even  though  we  may  not  hear  with  our  own  ears. 
For  when  a  viceroy,  or  a  commissioner  of  the  Govern- 
ment, or  a  mandarin,  is  met  by  the  kow-tows  of  the 
multitude,  or  when  the  many  may  whisper  into  his 
ears,  if  but  a  word,  it  is  *  Excellency,'  *  Your  Honour,' 
or  even  'Your  Illustrious  Majesty!'  — fools  they 
are  when  they  use  this  last  to  speak  to  a  sub- 
commissioner  of  food  supply!   But  they  will  do  it, 


DEVOTION  TO  AGRICULTURE  95 

if  but  a  cash  [smallest  Chinese  coin]  is  dropped  upon 
the  pavements  for  their  dirty  hands  to  grasp. 

"And  so  I  say  it  is  for  these  and  other  reasons 
that  it  is  a  sign  of  the  highest  sagacity  for  the  man 
in  office  —  the  lesser  the  office  the  greater  is  the 
virtue  —  to  show  himself  at  public  functions  of 
patriotic  import,  to  speak  strong  words  for  high 
principles,  and  at  the  same  time  to  appear  with  the 
greatest  outward  humility  (and  inward,  if  he  be  sin- 
cere) in  the  presence  of  noble  ancestors  or  superla- 
tive deeds. 

"If  a  coolie  decry  against  the  holiness  of  the 
Philosophies,  he  is  but  cuffed  and  beaten,  or,  at  most, 
his  wretched  head  is  impaled.  Of  this  there  is  little 
or  no  matter,  for  even  the  passer-by  doth  not  enquire 
the  fellow's  name. 

"But  lo!  if  the  governor  of  a  city,  the  viceroy  of 
a  province,  doth  dare  profane!  It  is  not  sure  that 
he  will  be  mistreated  in  his  person,  nor  yet,  always, 
that  he  may  lose  his  office  —  for  he  may  have  great 
power  in  his  region.  But  his  words  of  profanation 
are  as  crash  of  sudden  thunder  upon  the  air;  the 
whole  city  hears  the  spoken  word,  and  in  every  house 
they  ask:  What  was  that?  And  soon  it  becomes 
known  that  the  voice  was  of  a  mighty  man  defying 
something  that  before  was  thought  mightier.  And 
many  of  the  ignorant,  and  even  those  more  intelli- 
gent, take  up  the  words  of  the  great  man,  and  say 
one  to  another:  'Ha!  I  have  thought  this  way  all 
the  time,  and  now  the  Governor  says  the  same  thing, 


.96         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

and  I  know  I  am  right,  for  he  speaks  with  great 
knowledge  and  high  authority.' 

"So,  thinking  over  these  things  many,  many 
years,  I  know  that  as  I  grow  higher  in  the  province 
or  kingdom  it  is  the  more  necessary  that  by  my  out- 
ward observances  I  give  not  only  no  occasion  for 
scandal-makers  or  carriers,  but  that,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  my  duty  to  ever  show  a  respect  for  the 
Analects  and  the  Laws,  and  for  every  custom  that 
(not  called  for  by  the  exact  privileges  of  my  station) 
may  bring  to  the  minds  of  the  people  those  things 
and  forms  which  tend  toward  a  better  respect  for 
all  the  past. 

"Yet,  as  I  have  said,  I  go  not  to  the  temple  of 
the  Divine  Tiller  for  the  sake  alone  of  outward 
observances.  Rather  do  I  think  that  my  inward 
feelings  form  much  the  stronger  motive:  an  ardent 
personal  love,  combined  with  a  sense  of  high  official 
duty." 

The  following  lines  were  written  evidently  some 
time  later,  perhaps  after  a  rereading  of  the  last 
paragraph,  if  not  the  entire  composition :  — 

"How  happy  indeed  should  I  be  if  I  could  speak 
thus  of  all  my  official  and  private  acts!" 


CHAPTER  VII 

AFTERTHOUGHTS   OF   THE   JAPANESE  WAR 

Although  the  great  Viceroy  made  many  notes  in 
his  diary  during  his  sojourn  in  Japan  as  Peace  Com- 
missioner, even  to  dictating  considerable  matter 
to  his  secretaries  from  his  sick-bed,  —  that  is,  matter 
of  a  nature  such  as  is  found  in  his  personal  manu- 
scripts, for  from  his  sick-chamber  he  actually  con- 
tinued the  carrying  on  of  the  peace  negotiations,  — 
he  appears  not  to  have  written  much  for  several 
weeks  after  his  return  to  China,  where,  though  ac- 
claimed by  the  world  as  one  of  its  most  astute  and 
successful  diplomatists,  he  was  received  almost  coldly 
by  the  Throne  which  he  had  saved  from  utter  hu- 
miliation at  the  hands  of  the  conquerors,  and  found 
himself  hated  and  despised  by  millions  of  his  igno- 
rant countrymen,  who  charged  him  with  paving  the 
way  for  the  total  dismembership  of  the  nation. 

Thus  he  writes  in  retrospect  at  the  Vice-Regal 
Yamen,  Tientsin:  — 

"  In  one's  old  age  it  is  terrible  to  be  beset  by 
troubles,  worries,  and  base  falsehoods.  I  should 
not  mind  my  physical  ills  at  all,  at  least  but  very 
little,  if  the  lies  and  dissatisfactions  which  seem  to 
fill  the  very  air  could  be  gathered  into  a  heap  and 
go  up  in  smoke  as  do  the  offering  papers.  Still,  there 


98         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

is  to  me  a  great  personal  satisfaction  in  what  I  have 
accompHshed,  and  within  my  own  heart  I  feel  that 
not  in  all  my  days  have  I  had  the  right  more  than 
now  to  be  proud  of  my  labours  for  China. 

"Yesterday,  when  I  returned  from  Peking,  I  was 
sore  distressed,  for,  while  I  was  received  by  the  Sacred 
Car  [Their  Majesties]  with  every  indication  of  a 
sincere  personal  liking,  there  can  be  no  question 
but  that  at  least  they  did  strongly  pretend  to  be 
aggrieved  over  the  terms  of  the  treaty.  Yet,  what 
would  they  have  me  do?  —  a  man  with  his  shoulders 
flat  to  the  ground,  even  though  those  shoulders  be 
broad  and  strong,  does  not  usually  dictate  to  his 
adversary  terms  upon  which  he  shall  rise. 

"It  is  time  for  him  boldly  to  talk  terms  when  he 
is  once  more  upon  his  feet !  And  the  wise  man  — 
and  why  not  the  wise  nation?  —  knows  enough  to 
wait  until  he  gets  his  breath  again  before  talking  too 
loudly. 

"If  words  and  gesticulations  could  win  armed 
battles,  the  palace  and  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen  would 
need  neither  soldiers  nor  ships.  Yet,  perhaps,  I 
should  not  be  too  severe  on  Their  Majesties  nor  the 
Censors,  for  words  won  my  victories  at  Shimonoseki. 
But  when  a  noisy  rascal  like  An  Wei-chun  memorial- 
ises the  Throne  against  me  —  he  who  could  do 
nothing  of  value  for  Tze  Hsi  in  the  field  nor  as  a 
Peace  Commissioner,  and  who  has  lived  by  bribery 
all  his  days  —  I  am  incensed  to  the  core;  and  were 
my  life  younger  and  a  world  before  me  instead  of 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR    99 

behind  me  I  should  take  him  to  task  severely. 
Hound  that  An  Wei-chun  is! 

"  I  think  that  deep  within  her  the  Empress  under- 
stands fully  my  stand  in  all  this  miserable  Japanese 
affair,  and  that  in  her  own  records  she  will  place  me 
right  in  history.  Some  men  would  not  care  what 
posterity  might  say  or  think  of  them,  but  after  all 
these  years  of  mine  of  ceaseless  endeavour,  both  to 
help  the  nation  and  to  build  up  a  name  for  myself, 
I  cannot  bear  to  think  that  coming  generations  might 
regard  me  in  any  light  other  than  a  patriot  who 
attempted  well  and  did  not  always  fail. 

"From  what  I  am  able  to  learn  of  my  English 
friends  here  [Tientsin]  nearly  all  foreigners  blame 
me  for  the  war  with  Japan.  I  am  not  so  much  inter- 
ested in  what  the  devils  think  as  in  what  they  say, 
for,  sooner  or  later,  so  terribly  wide  and  deep  is 
the  devils'  influence  throughout  Asia,  that  what  is 
thought  in  London  and  New  York  is  finally  accepted 
as  fact  in  Hong-Kong,  Tokio,  and  Peking.  There  is 
to-day,  and  has  been  for  nearly  a  decade,  altogether 
too  much  correspondence  back  and  forth  between 
our  country  and  Europe.  The  correspondents  write 
many  hundreds  of  things  which  are  as  far  from  the 
truth  as  my  life  is  removed  from  that  of  Kang  He, 
or  my  work  in  letters  from  his.  And  the  editors  and 
publishers  far  away  believe  all  this  stuff,  —  they 
have  no  other  reliance,  because  their  own  foreign 
offices  will  not  talk,  —  and  so  the  whole  world  gets 
wrong  impressions. 


lOo       MEMOIRS   OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"Some  say  that  because  I  was  foremost  in  advo- 
cating an  army  and  navy  I  should  receive  the  most 
blame  for  whatever  warlike  complications  the  coun- 
try gets  into.  What  damnable,  hellish,  good-for- 
nothing  nonsense! 

"The  enemies  at  Peking,  getting  their  tips  of 
thought  from  some  of  my  enemies  abroad,  have 
asserted  that  because  I  urged  China  to  make  prepa- 
rations for  war  —  which  is  as  likely  to  happen  to  any 
country  at  any  time  as  a  Yunnan  dam  is  to  give  way 
before  its  flood  of  waters  —  I  invited  the  hostility 
of  the  foreigners,  especially  of  Japan.  Such  reason- 
ing is  worthy  only  of  a  slut  puppy!  If  a  bank  builds 
iron  doors,  or  a  pawn-shop  puts  bars  upon  its  win- 
dows, may  we  say  that  these  are  invitations  to  strong- 
fists  and  hard-faces  to  break  in?  Do  we  rail  at  a 
man,  who,  having  a  house  full  of  jade  ornaments 
and  rich  pottery,  causes  strong  shutters  to  be  placed 
over  his  windows  so  that  he  may  close  them  at  night? 
If  a  man  stand  at  the  edge  of  his  rice-field,  cudgel 
in  hand,  while  a  caravan  is  passing,  do  we  claim  that 
his  attitude  is  one  of  invitation  to  enter  and  destroy? 
—  or  rather  do  we  not  commend  him  as  one  who  is 
ready  to  defend  his  fields  that  they  be  not  destroyed? 

"The  truth  is,  and  I  have  stated  it  boldly  in  the 
north  and  south,  and  to  Marquis  Ito,  Prince  Ching, 
and  even  to  the  Empress  and  the  Court,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  miserable,  corrupt  An  Wei-chun  him- 
self, —  though  I  shall  never  foul  my  tongue  by 
addressing  that  hair-brained  Censor  again,  —  that 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR     loi 

for  twenty-two  years  I  have  been  opposed  to  a 
belligerent  attitude  toward  our  Island  Neighbours; 
and  that  last  year,  on  the  3d,  7th,  and  9th  days  of 
the  second  moon,  personally  and  with  vehemence, 
I  urged  the  Throne  against  any  precipitate  action 
against  the  Japanese.  Upon  the  last  occasion  Her 
Majesty  flew  into  the  worst  rage  in  late  times,  and 
desired  to  know  if,  in  matters  of  international 
import,  I  had  begun  to  regard  myself  as  superior  to 
the  Emperor. 

"Of  course  I  did  not,  and  the  question  was  idle, 
as  are  most  questions  asked  or  statements  made  in 
that  condition  of  mind;  and,  furthermore,  I  have 
been  too  long  a  soldier,  either  giving  or  receiving 
orders,  not  to  know  what  commands  are. 

"Even  one  of  the  first  compliments  ever  paid  me 
by  a  person  of  note  was  when,  in  Kiangsu,  after  I 
had  been  under  him  less  than  two  years,  Tseng- 
kofan,  with  all  his  knowledge  of  the  academy  and 
the  guidance  of  troops,  said  that  I  was  not  only  ever 
alert  to  see  that  orders  were  obeyed,  but  promptly 
and  fully  to  obey  in  spirit  and  in  letter  those  which  I 
received. 

"Glorious  and  departed  Tseng-kofan! 

"  My  head  is  very  painful  to-day.  I  have  written 
too  much  and  worried  too  much  for  an  old  man, 
'  an  old  fool '  that  damnable  Censor  calls  me  —  I 
hope  the  ancestors  hate  the  culprit  —  and  I  must 
eat  and  sleep. 

"I  am  afraid  this  last  tea  is  not  so  good.    Kee 


102       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

maintains  that  it  is  our  own  best  yu-tsin.    If  it  is, 
I  think  we  had  better  return  to  sou-chong. 

"An  American  is  here  with  a  letter  of  Mr.  Fos- 
ter's." 

''Hour  of  the  Monkey  [3  p.m.].  —  I  thought  the 
American  came  with  a  letter  of  introduction,  and 
that  he  might  be  looking  for  an  interview.  I  do 
believe  he  was  a  journalist,  but  he  came  on  a  mission 
that  is  most  pleasing,  for  he  brings  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Foster  [formerly  American  Secretary  of  State,  who 
assisted  Viceroy  Li  in  the  Japanese  peace  negotia- 
tions], and  he  says  that  all  the  reports  he  has  been 
able  to  receive  upon  the  opinions  of  men  whose  views 
are  worth  obtaining  (in  both  Japan  and  the  United 
States)  believe  that  we  have  come  out  far  ahead  in 
the  treaty. 

"This  is,  indeed,  news  to  gladden  the  gizzard  of 
old  Li!  I  shall  see  to  it  that  this  bountiful  harvest 
of  words  reaches  every  part  of  the  country,  and  par- 
ticularly the  capital.  In  the  south  they  will  learn  it 
afterwards,  just  as  they  learn  everything." 

Secretary's  Foster's  letter  was  carefully  printed, 
probably  for  select  distribution  by  Li,  and  several 
copies  were  found  among  the  latter's  papers.  While 
it  is  not  strictly  a  part  of  the  Viceroy's  memoirs, 
and  not  in  the  broader  sense  confidential,  nor  even 
a  state  document,  it  is  thought  justifiable  to  intro- 
duce it  in  this  part  of  the  work. 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR    103 

American  Legation,  Tokio, 
June  7,  1895. 

My  dear  Friend  and  Viceroy,  —  Your  good 
letter  of  some  two  weeks  ago  has  been  following  me 
about,  and  only  on  Monday  night  caught  up  with 
me  here,  where  I  am  awaiting  Washington  mails  and 
further  instructions  upon  certain  matters. 

I  was  made  happy  to  hear  that  your  head  does 
not  trouble  you  nearly  as  much  as  formerly,  and  it  is 
my  earnest  hope  that  you  will  be  wholly  mended  by 
the  time  you  receive  this  letter.  You  will  recall  that 
one  of  the  last  things  you  said  to  me  was  that 
you  would  not  allow  worries  to  kill  you,  since  the 
Japanese  maniac's  bullet  could  not  do  it;  but  I  fear 
you  have  not  been  quite  true  to  your  word,  and  that 
your  complete  recovery  might  have  been  an  accom- 
plished fact  by  this  time  if  you  had  simply  remained 
indoors,  and  let  nature  and  the  physicians  bring  you 
about. 

My  dear  Viceroy,  it  is  the  height  of  folly  for  you 
to  let  your  enemies  at  the  capital  bother  you  with 
their  opinions  and  outbursts.  Had  you  succeeded 
in  annexing  Japan  they  would  have  accredited  you 
only  with  ulterior  motives. 

You  must  remember,  and  doubtless  you  do,  that 
never  in  the  history  of  the  world  —  so  far  as  I  am 
aware  —  has  there  been  signed  a  treaty  of  peace 
which  pleased  all  parties,  or  even  one  party  wholly. 
One  side  or  the  other  (more  often  both  sides)  is  cer- 
tain that  the  opposite  party  got  the  best  of  the  bar- 


104       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

gain;  and  the  mission  of  peace  plenipotentiary  is  at 
best  a  thankless  one,  particularly  when  you  are  repre- 
senting the  vanquished,  if  not  the  weaker,  nation. 

It  might  not  be  quite  politic  for  me  to  come  out 
publicly  and  say  so,  but  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
telling  you  that  all  the  world,  including  Japan,  out- 
side your  own  nation,  believes  you  accomplished  a 
truly  remarkable  victory  in  the  negotiations.  My 
cables  from  home,  some  official,  but  mostly  personal, 
indicate  that  the  Mikado  is  judged  to  have  lost  much 
that  his  armies  had  gained,  because  of  your  superior 
ability;  and,  between  us,  we  are  mutually  aware  that 
you  did  not  expect  to  go  home  with  "a  tooth  in  your 
mouth  or  a  hair  in  your  head,"  as  you  so  humorously 
expressed  it. 

Therefore,  let  all  this  carking,  senseless  criticism 
go  by.  It  can  do  you  no  harm,  either  now  or  in  the 
future.  I  hear  you  have  lost  or  will  lose  some  of  your 
decorations  and  dignities ;  but  they  will  all  come  back 
to  you,  augmented  by  others.  Whether  they  do  or 
not,  you  will  be  always  possessed  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  having  served  well  your  country  and  people. 
—  Believe  me  Your  Excellency's  friend  and  well- 
wisher, 

John  W.  Foster. 

"  Fourth  Day  of  the  Sixth  Moon  [June  30].  —  I  have 
seen  and  heard  so  many  misstatements  regarding 
my  actual  words  and  propositions  at  the  Peace 
Meeting  that  I  am  to-day  writing  the  actual  pros 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR     105 

and  cons  which  led  up  to  the  final  agreement  and 
signing.  This  same  statement  I  will  send  as  a  sup- 
plementary report  to  the  Throne,  with  the  request, 
which  will  be  granted,  that  it  be  inscribed  in  the 
Records  of  the  Dynasty.  I  shall  also  forward  a  copy 
of  it  to  Count  Ito,  asking  that  high-minded  man  to 
read  it  and  point  out  to  me  where  I  am  in  error,  if 
I  am. 

"  Let  it  first  be  known  that  only  the  sincere  desire 
to  be  of  some  service  to  Their  Majesties  and  to  the 
people  led  me  to  hazard  going  to  Nippon.  I  had 
never  set  foot  on  a  foreign  shore,  and  it  was  my  wish 
to  live  and  die  in  China,  without  the  reproach  of 
setting  foot  on  alien  soil. 

"At  the  same  time  I  was  opposed  to  the  sending 
of  the  former  missions.  I  urged  with  all  my  force 
and  strength,  first,  against  the  sending  of  Mr. 
Detring,  and,  second,  against  the  going  of  Chang- 
yin-hoan,  for  I  could  not  imagine  the  Japanese 
Government,  or  any  other  of  importance,  treating 
with  men  of  such  rank  and  credentials  in  a  matter  of 
such  momentous  consequence. 

"When  I  was  informed  by  the  Foreign  Office  that 
it  was  determined  by  the  Palace  that  Chang-yin- 
hoan  be  sent,  I  made  haste  to  protest ;  for  I  believed 
a  mission  headed  by  him  could  result  in  nothing  but 
failure.  Then  it  was  that  I  was  asked,  not  kindly 
nor  with  consideration,  if  I  had  been  on  the  alert  for 
such  a  task  myself. 

"Why  should  I  be?    I  had  spoken  and  laboured 


io6       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

against  war  and,  now,  if  I  were  to  appear  anxious 
to  bring  it  to  an  end,  it  certainly  would  be  charged 
that  because  of  personal  financial  interests,  rather 
than  for  the  general  good,  I  was  hoping  to  stem  the 
Japanese  advance ;  for  it  is  as  well  to  put  it  down  in 
writing  now:  no  man  or  set  of  men  in  China  could 
count  their  individual  losses  or  expenses  alongside  of 
mine.  Fen-lo  has  been  figuring  for  weeks,  and  he  is 
still  at  it,  so  as  yet  there  is  no  telling  what  Li  Hung 
Chang  put  into  this  unfortunate  conflict;  but  in 
munitions  and  supplies  (my  paid-for  goods)  about 
2,650,000  taels,  and  in  actual  cash  —  the  amount 
cannot  be  correctly  known  for  some  time  yet  — 
probably  2,300,000  taels.  All  Peking  and  Tientsin, 
and  the  centre  and  south,  were  aware  of  this;  and 
had  I  rushed  forward  to  urge  myself  as  an  ambas- 
sador plenipotentiary  it  would  have  immediately 
been  whispered,  then  talked  aloud,  and  finally  told 
in  the  language  of  lions,  that  the  Viceroy  Li,  to  save 
his  own  private  fortune,  was  willing  to  sacrifice  the 
honour  of  the  nation  and  the  glory  of  the  Throne. 

"Yes,  I  wanted  peace;  wanted  it  quite  as  much 
if  not  more  than  any  Chinese,  and  I  was  daily  and 
hourly  losing  more  individually  than  was  any  entire 
prefecture  in  the  empire,  but  I  was  not  sufficiently 
anxious  for  it  to  smirch  my  name  and  forever  lose 
my  reputation. 

"I  had  treated  with  Count  Ito  on  Korean  affairs 
before,  and  I  learned  from  agents  of  mine  in  Japan 
that  the  Government  there  wanted  to  treat  with  me 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR     107 

in  any  matters  relating  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities 
or  a  permanent  peace.  This  was  known,  too,  at 
Canton  and  Hong-Kong,  as  well  as  at  Peking.  The 
Council  knew  it,  so  did  the  Foreign  Office.  Still  I 
was  not  anxious,  at  any  time,  on  my  own  account, 
to  go  out  and  seek  peace;  and  it  was  only  upon,  first, 
the  entreaty  and,  finally,  the  absolute  command  of 
Their  Majesties  that  I  did  go. 

"  I  am  not  sorry  that  I  went,  but  my  heart  is  sore 
distressed  to  think  that  my  going  was  necessary. 

"It  was  the  Empress  herself,  for  His  Majesty, 
who  commanded  me  to  go.  For  the  first  time  in  all 
my  acquaintanceship  with  Her  Glorious  and  Illus- 
trious Majesty,  I  had  occasion  to  feel  a  sense  of  pity. 
I  had  always  revered,  or,  at  least,  happily  and  loy- 
ally obeyed  her;  but  now  it  seemed  as  if  the  aged 
Viceroy  was  her  only  hope.  And  I  left  for  Japan 
with  these  cruel  words  ringing  in  my  ears:  — 

"'You  made  the  war;  now  see  if  you  can  unmake 
it  without  humiliating  your  country  before  the  dogs 
of  Nippon.' 

"It  was  Prince  Ching  who  uttered  these  words. 

"They  rang  in  my  tired  ears  all  the  way  to  Ja- 
pan; they  made  themselves  heard  when  I  met  the 
Mikado's  envoys;  and  they  burned  into  my  brain 
deeper  than  did  the  would-be  assassin's  dirty  bullet! 

"I  wonder  if  I  had  died  in  that  foreign  land,  died 
in  the  service  of  my  country,  would  my  enemies 
have  laughed,  railed,  or  shed  tears? 

"When  I  arrived  in  Japan,  and  the  usual  formal 


io8       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

courtesies  were  over  with,  Count  Ito  personally 
called  upon  me  at  my  place  of  temporary  abode,  and 
we  chatted  as  old-time  friends  rather  than  peace 
ambassadors  of  two  neighbouring  nations  that  were 
thirsting  for  each  other's  blood.  There  can  be  no 
question  but  that  the  people  in  north  and  central 
China  and  the  entire  people  of  the  Japanese  Empire 
were  feverish  for  a  continuation  of  the  war.  What 
poor  fools  the  populace  at  times  make  of  themselves, 
more  especially  when  they  do  not  have  even  a  fair 
inkling  of  what  is  at  stake ! 

*'One  of  the  first  things  Ito  said  to  me  was:  'Why 
did  you  send  the  Kow-hsing  to  Korea?' 

"'I?'  I  asked.  'I  am  not  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment.' 

"Thus  it  was  that  at  the  very  outset  of  the 
negotiations,  the  very  day  of  our  landing,  in  fact, 
I  was  made  to  face  the  assertion  that  personally  I 
was  responsible  for  the  war;  in  other  words,  that  but 
for  me  the  Imperial  Government  would  never  have 
taken  aggressive  action. 

''I  made  this  reply  to  the  chief  plenipotentiary 
of  the  Mikado:  'Count  Ito,  you  and  I  have  together 
gone  over  this  Korean  question  before,  and  we  were 
able  to  understand  each  other  perfectly,  because  we 
spoke  frankly,  and  I  hope  these  present  negotiations 
will  be  conducted  in  a  similar  manner.  Therefore, 
at  the  outset,  let  me  take  what  blame  is  trul}'  mine. 
I  did  advise  the  sending  of  troops  to  Korea,  in  fact 
many  of  the  troops  that  came  were  mine.   But  I  had 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR    109 

the  unqualified  assurance  from  Peking  that  a  mes- 
senger would  leave  for  Tokio  far  in  advance  of  any 
troopship,  and  that  the  Government  of  the  Mikado 
would  be  amply  warned  of  Chinese  intentions.  In 
this,  if  I  was  fooled,  my  province  and  troops  were 
fooled,  and  the  nation  was  brought  face  to  face  with 
this  rupture.' 

" '  I  believe  every  word  Your  Excellency  is  saying,' 
said  the  Count. 

"'The  Viceroy  is  unquestionably  speaking  the 
truth,  and  the  truth  only,'  said  Mr.  Foster,  who  was 
with  me  when  Count  Ito  called. 

"There  was  a  silence  of  many  moments  following 
these  words  of  the  American  diplomat,  and  during 
that  time  I  noticed  that  there  were  friendly  and 
knowing  nods  between  the  latter  and  the  Japanese 
ambassador. 

'"As  to  the  Kow-hsing,  Count  Ito,'  I  said —  'if 
this  is  simply  an  informal  talk  between  us,  and  not 
to  be  carried  into  our  negotiations  —  I  think  your 
treatment  of  our  ship  was  abominable  and  barba- 
rous.' 

"  Ito  made  no  comment,  though  his  face  twitched. 
I  believe  he  fought  hard  in  order  to  keep  back  that 
word  'Yes,'  which  was  struggling  within  him. 

"Shortly  after  this  he  took  his  leave,  and  we  did 
not  meet  again  until  the  opening  of  the  formal  con- 
ference next  morning.  Mr.  Foster  remained  with 
me  a  large  part  of  the  day  and  well  into  the  night; 
and  here  is  a  fitting  place  to  say  that  I  feel  that 


no       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

China  should  ever  remember  him  as  a  great  national 
friend,  just  as  I  shall  ever  cherish  him  as  a  true  and 
helpful  personal  one.  Indeed,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  but  for  Mr.  Foster  the  case  might  have 
gone  more  heavily  against  us,  though  he  was  by  no 
means  one-sided  in  his  views  —  on  several  points  in 
the  dispute  actually  taking  the  view  of  the  Japanese. 

"My  very  first  proposition  to  the  conference  was 
that  an  immediate  armistice  be  declared.  I  urged 
that  inasmuch  as  we,  the  fully  accredited  representa- 
tives of  our  respective  nations,  were  there  assembled 
for  the  avowed  purpose  of  arranging  a  peace  protocol, 
it  was  extremely  strange  if  the  very  Governments 
which  had  sent  us  upon  our  missions  should  at  the 
same  moment  and  hour  be  issuing  orders  to  generals 
in  the  field  and  admirals  on  the  sea. 

"I  spoke  for  some  time  upon  this  phase,  one  of 
the  longest  addresses  of  the  kind  I  ever  made;  and 
when  I  had  finished  there  was  silence  for  many 
minutes.  This  was  followed  by  the  retiring  of  Count 
Ito  and  his  colleagues  to  a  part  of  the  room  by  them- 
selves; after  which  they  took  their  places,  and 
Count  Ito  said :  — 

"  *  Your  Excellency's  proposal  is  agreeable  to  us  as 
representatives  of  Mutsuhito,  His  Imperial  Japan- 
ese Majesty;  but  we  are  compelled  to  demand  that 
during  at  least  the  period  of  the  armistice  the  Chinese 
Government  shall  turn  over  for  safe  keeping  the 
fortress  and  munitions,  permanent,  at  Taku  and 
Shanghaikwan,  the  railway  and  rolling  stock  of  the 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR  in 

Tientsin  line,  free  of  every  interference,  and  the  fort 
and  munitions,  permanent,  at  the  city  of  Tientsin.' 

"I  was  dumbfounded  at  this  proposal,  and  had  I 
not  kept  fully  in  view  the  great  seriousness  of  our 
conference,  and  the  nature  of  the  men  composing 
thejapanese  delegation,  I  should  have  thought  Count 
Ito  guilty  of  perpetrating  a  great  bit  of  humour. 
Frankly,  I  was  astounded  to  think  that  such  a  con- 
dition —  precedent  to  an  armistice  —  should  be 
made,  and  it  appeared  as  if  I  were  unable  to  find 
words  with  which  to  express  my  surprise.  Indeed, 
all  I  could  do  upon  the  moment  was  to  ask  Count 
Ito  to  have  the  graciousness  to  repeat  what  he  had 
said.  To  think  that  he  seriously  intended  that  we 
should  turn  over  the  Gate  to  the  Capital  itself,  to- 
gether with  our  munitions  of  war,  was  truly  baffling. 

"Count  Ito  repeated,  word  for  word,  as  before. 

"As  he  proceeded  each  syllable  seemed  to  rouse 
a  new  anger  within  me,  and  it  was  with  considerable 
difficulty  that  I  restrained  myself  when  he  had 
finished. 

"  I  looked  over  at  Mr.  Foster,  who  was  only  as  a 
spectator  up  to  this  time,  and  I  saw  that  his  face  was 
ashen. 

" '  Are  those  your  best  and  only  terms? '  I  asked  as 
calmly  as  I  could  of  the  Mikado's  chief  ambassador. 

"'They  are  the  only  terms  for  an  armistice,'  he 
replied. 

"'Then  let  the  war  go  on  while  we  talk  peace,' 
I  answered. 


112       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"And  the  first  session  of  the  conference  came 
abruptly  to  a  close." 

"When  I  was  again  in  my  abode  and  alone,  I  went 
over  the  situation  phase  by  phase  and  step  by  step, 
and  reluctantly  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
Japanese  Government  meant  to  impose  about  the 
hardest  conditions  possible  to  any  terms  of  peace. 
The  Japanese  were  as  fully  aware  as  myself  of  the 
conditions  in  China,  for,  for  years,  to  my  certain  and 
personal  knowledge,  they  had  had  spies,  emissaries, 
and  agents  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other. 
Peking,  Tientsin,  and  Nanking  were  fairly  alive 
with  Japanese  civil  and  military  officers,  some  of 
them  employed  at  the  hotels,  some  on  estates,  many 
of  them  in  the  foreign  concessions,  and  a  few,  as  I 
learned,  even  drawing  salaries  or  stipends  from  my- 
self. Of  course,  when  I  learned  of  these  latter  they 
were  forthwith  put  out  of  harm's  way. 

"But  China  was  wholly  unprepared  for  a  conflict 
with  Japan,  and  it  is  with  no  sense  of  personal 
boasting  that  I  say  that  no  one  knew  this  terrible 
fact  better  than  myself.  Yet  I  had  been  in  favour 
always  of  maintaining  our  position  in  Korea,  for 
that  country  had  been  for  centuries  the  vassal  of 
China;  and  had  she  not  been  a  lone  long  peninsula 
running  down  in  isolation  from  Manchuria,  the 
Japanese  would  never  have  deemed  themselves  as 
possessed  of  any  more  rights  there  than  in  Shantung, 
or  my  native  Anhuei.  But  for  the  sake  of  peace  with 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR     113 

her  neighbour  China  had  agreed,  in  the  Convention 
of  1884,  at  Tientsin,  when  Count  Ito  also  repre- 
sented his  country,  that  both  our  nations  should 
withdraw  their  troops  from  the  country,  and  allow 
the  King  of  Korea  to  look  after  all  internal  disturb- 
ances of  that  realm.  And  it  was  further  agreed,  to 
this  solemn  effect:  'That  in  case  of  any  grave  dis- 
turbance occurring  within  the  kingdom  of  Korea,  of 
great  moment  or  concern  to  China  or  Japan,  such 
as  might  of  necessity  call  for  troops  from  the  out- 
side for  the  suppression  thereof,  it  is  hereby  under- 
stood and  agreed  that  they  shall  give,  each  to  the 
other,  previous  notice  in  writing  of  their  intention 
to  send  a  force;  and  that  after  the  matter  which 
made  the  call  for  such  troops  necessary  is  settled, 
such  troops  shall  forthwith  be  withdrawn,  and 
other  troops  shall  not  be  further  stationed  at  any 
place  or  point  within  the  recognised  kingdom  of 
Korea.' 

"It  was  claimed  by  Japan  that  the  Chinese 
Government  broke  this  solemn  clause.  If  it  did  so 
I  myself  was  misled,  for,  as  I  informed  Count  Ito, 
and  as  I  have  already  written,  I  was  given  plainly 
to  understand  at  Peking  that  proper  notification  had 
been  sent  to  Tokio  a  reasonable  time  in  advance  of 
the  sending  of  help  in  response  to  the  call  of  the 
Seoul  authorities.  The  King  believed  himself  unable 
to  cope  with  the  wild  Tong  Hak,  and  he  very  rightly 
asked  the  Throne  for  assistance,  just  as  his  country 
had  been  doing  for  centuries. 


114        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

"I  have  made  this  declaration  once  before  in  the 
presence  of  the  high  contracting  parties  of  the  two 
empires,  and  with  Mr.  Foster  a  witness;  but  I  wish 
here  to  record  it  as  my  eternal  judgment. 

"Had  not  the  Japanese  Government  been  deter- 
mined to  possess  Korea  at  any  cost,  some  time  or 
another,  it  would  not  have  hastened  to  despatch  an 
army  corps  to  that  country  immediately  —  immedi- 
ately, I  repeat  —  upon  receiving  the  bare  informa- 
tion that  Chinese  troops  had  gone  to  Seoul  in  response 
to  the  appeal  of  the  King  of  Korea.  China  did  not 
force  her  troops  upon  Korea,  nor  did  she  seek  for  an 
opportunity  nor  an  excuse  to  do  so.  On  the  contrary, 
the  Throne  and  Government  were  quite  willing, 
even  anxious,  that  Korea  attend  to  her  own  affairs. 
That  country  had  long  been  a  considerable  burden 
upon  China,  and  while  there  was,  and  is,  and  always 
will  be,  the  kindliest  and  most  sympathetic  bonds 
between  the  Hermit  Kingdom,  so  called,  and  the 
Chinese  Empire,  the  latter  country  had  nothing  to 
gain  even  by  substantially  and  politically  incorpo- 
rating Korea  as  a  province  to  be  governed  from  a 
vice-regal  yamen  in  Seoul  or  more  directly  from  the 
Northern  Capital. 

"Had  Japan  not  been  anxious  to  force  a  war  upon 
China,  the  Government  of  that  country  would  never 
have  countenanced,  before  nor  afterward,  the  sink- 
ing of  the  Kow-hsing,  and  the  consequent  murder 
of  hundreds  of  brave  men  who  not  only  were  in  a 
defenceless  position  themselves,  but  were  going  in 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR    115 

obedience  to  orders  to  assist  in  the  pacification  of 
Korea  —  not  in  any  attack  upon  Japan. 

"I  charge  that  the  Government  of  the  Mikado 
dehberately  sought  a  conflict  with  China  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  annexing  the  so-called  kingdom  of  Korea. 
I  charge  that  the  methods  pursued  by  the  Japanese 
were  underhanded  and  uncivilised.  I  charge  that 
the  destruction  of  the  Kow-hsing  was  deliberate  and 
wholesale  murder,  perpetrated  in  the  name  of  a 
Government  that  pretends  not  only  to  be  a  leader  in 
Oriental  thought  and  learning,  but  to  have  absorbed 
the  best  of  Occidental  ideas  and  principles. 

"These  are  my  own  personal  feelings  and  state- 
ments, but  they  are  susceptible  of  corroboration  by 
general  facts  of  this  war,  and  by  records  to  be  found 
in  Tokio  and  Peking.  Perhaps  some  will  say  — 
people  say  everything  and  anything  when  my  life 
and  motives  are  under  consideration  —  that  it  is 
my  duty  to  gather  these  proofs  and  submit  them  for 
the  judgment  of  the  world.  Some  will  say  that  I  owe 
this  duty  to  China,  if  not  to  myself.  Some  will 
denounce  me  if  I  do  not  follow  such  a  course.  I 
should  be  denounced  and  vilified  in  any  event. 

"But  I  have  great  and  potent  reasons  for  main- 
taining silence  at  this  time,  and  I  am  sure  that  every 
statesman  in  the  world  will  agree  with  me. 

"I  have  lately  returned  from  a  peace  conference. 
The  awards  and  the  settlements  have  been  made. 
The  war  is  at  an  end,  and  peaceful  pursuits  are  again 
occupying  the  attention  of  the  people.  My  name  has 


ii6       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

been  signed  to  a  great  document  agreeing  that  our 
troubles  are  things  of  the  past,  and  that  each  nation 
now  looks  to  the  other  for  friendship  and  right  deal- 
ing. My  country  feels  her  humiliation,  and  person- 
ally I  am  in  disgrace. 

"Looking  upon  these  things  and  giving  them  care- 
ful thought,  who  is  there,  Government  or  people, 
at  home  or  in  foreign  lands,  that  would  forgive  me  if 
I  were  to  open  up  all  the  old  cuts  again  and  precipi- 
tate a  renewal  of  the  strife?  Such  I  am  sure  would  be 
the  result  if  I  were  to  speak  out  to  all  China  and  to 
all  the  world  as  I  have  spoken  man  to  man,  to  Count 
Ito  at  Shimonoseki.  And  I  am  not  writing  these 
words  with  any  thought  that  they  will  be  given 
publicity  within  a  period  during  which  any  of  the 
hot  animosities  engendered  by  this  deplorable  and 
uncalled-for  conflict  may  remain.  I  hope  for  peace 
for  China,  peace  for  Japan." 

One  week  later  at  Peking  the  Viceroy  wrote :  — 
"I  have  pored  over  a  mass  of  translated  corre- 
spondence from  St.  Petersburg  to-day,  part  of  which 
is  from  my  friend  Count  Cassini,  and  my  old  frame 
seems  to  be  given  thereby  a  new  elixir  of  life !  I  can 
return  south  with  better  feelings,  if  less  honours. 

"Now  once  more  the  Throne  feels  more  friendly, 
but  there  is  an  apparent  coldness  in  the  treatment 
accorded  me  by  the  Empress.  Yet  she  was  gracious 
enough  to  acknowledge  that  the  satisfactory  assur- 
ances are  the  result  of  my  representations  to  the 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR    117 

Russian  Court,  last  year,  when  these  troublous  times 
were  approaching. 

"The  Empress  is  a  strange  woman,  contradictory, 
and  headstrong  as  the  devil  at  times ;  but  if  she  feels 
she  has  done  a  great  wrong,  she  is  ever  ready  to 
right  it  if  her  personal  dignity  is  not  too  plainly  at 
stake. 

"Yesterday  her  mood  was  that  of  desiring  me  to 
say  things  in  my  own  behalf.  She  had  learned  within 
an  hour  of  their  arrival  the  good  tidings  from  St. 
Petersburg,  the  gist  of  them ;  and  I  was  admitted  to 
her  presence  shortly  after. 

"Briefly  we  discussed  the  Russian  letters,  and 
Their  Majesties  are  heartily  grateful  that  Japan 
will  not  be  permitted,  either  now  or  in  the  future,  to 
seize  upon  any  part  of  Manchuria  or  the  mainland. 

"Why  did  I  not  have  these  assurances  before  I 
went  to  Japan? 

"Had  I  known  the  way  the  Czar's  Government 
feels  in  the  matter  of  Japanese  aggressions  in  Korea 
and  in  Manchuria,  after  my  armistice  proposal  had 
been  answered  in  the  manner  it  was,  I  could  have 
said  —  and  would  have  said  —  to  Ito:  *Go  ahead 
with  the  war ! ' 

"Still,  there  is  often  a  very  serious  doubt  in  my 
mind  as  to  the  real  object  of  these  Europeans,  and 
I  have  found  that  some  of  their  most  able  and  hon- 
ourable diplomats  will  lie  with  as  much  ease  as  a 
Nanking  bird-hawker.  They  will  be  as  extravagant 
in  their  promises  as  a  man  who  wishes  to  borrow 


ii8       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

money  but  who  also  has  no  security  to  give  — - 
especially  England;  they  swear  they  intend  to  do 
one  thing,  and  it  is  certain  that  beforehand  they  had 
it  all  figured  out  how  they  would  do  another. 

"Russia  is  to-day  our  greatest  friend  and  our 
most-to-be-feared  enemy.  She  is  our  friend  because 
Great  Britain  and  France  pose  as  friends  also.  She 
wishes  to  be  a  better  friend  than  they.  She  is  our 
greatest  enemy,  because  what  the  Russians  call  the 
trend  of  her  destiny  makes  her  so.  She  dominates  all 
northern  Asia,  and  hopes  some  day  to  have  prepon- 
derating influence  in  China. 

"She  will  help  us  to  keep  Japan  out,  because  she 
herself  wants  to  get  in." 

^^  July  28.  —  I  cannot  think  that  all  people  are 
bad,  even  the  worst  of  the  Christians,  for  to-day 
I  had  an  experience  —  just  an  hour  ago  —  that 
makes  me  think  that  outside  of  ofiice  and  business, 
outside  of  riches  and  honours,  there  are  small  hap- 
penings which  touch  a  man's  heart,  and  make  him 
feel  that  humanity  is  not  all  iron  and  gain  and  false- 
hood. 

"For  to-day  this  yamen,  which  for  twenty- four 
years  had  been  mine,  was  the  destination  of  a  great 
mission,  such  as  never  came  within  the  compound 
before.    I  nearly  wept  to  receive  them. 

"Two  native  Christians  all  the  way  from  that 
miserable  town  in  Japan  to  bring  me  here  medicines 
for  my  head,  and  to  see  if  I  was  getting  better!    I 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR    119 

wonder  if  this  is  because  Christianity  teaches  such 
things?  It  must  be,  for  the  Japanese  are  a  race  that 
assume  to  be  strong  in  matters  of  physical  pain,  and 
they  are  a  people  that  hate  the  outsider  —  the  Chi- 
nese most  of  all.  Therefore,  it  must  be  some  new  ideas 
that  this  man  and  boy  got  into  their  heads  to  make 
them  do  such  a  thing. 

"With  my  own  eyes  I  saw  them  coming  up  the 
steps  of  the  yamen,  and  at  first  I  told  Len  to  send 
them  away  —  as  if  I  were  proprietor  of  the  place; 
but  I  soon  saw  that  they  were  Japanese,  and  I  won- 
dered what  they  might  want  of  me,  or  if  it  was  I 
they  desired  to  see.  Len  let  them  in,  but  for  a  long 
time  we  could  not  learn  just  what  was  desired;  for 
the  man  spoke  his  own  tongue,  or  a  dialect  of  it,  and 
I  could  gather  but  a  few  words. 

"Ling-ho,  one  of  my  interpreters,  being  sent  for, 
I  was  amazed  to  learn  that  the  strange  man  was  one 
of  a  number  of  native  converts  who  had  called  to 
see  me  in  my  sick-room  when  I  was  recovering  from 
the  effects  of  the  madman's  bullet  in  my  skull ;  and  as 
I  looked  at  him  I  saw  that  he  was  telling  the  truth, 
for  I  recognised  him.  His  name,  he  said,  was  Sato, 
and  the  boy  that  accompanied  him  was  his  thirteen- 
year-old  son. 

"Sato  said  that  all  the  native  Christians  in  the 
little  mission  at  Ketuki,  near  Moji  —  the  mission 
that  had  at  first  sent  the  delegation  to  my  sick-room 
with  flowers  —  had  talked  about  me  every  day  since 
I  was  there,  and  had  prayed  to  the  Christian  God 


120        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

for  my  recovery.  He  said  that  they,  his  mission 
friends,  did  not  beUeve  in  war  or  killing,  and  that 
they  had  understood  that  I  had  come  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  war. 

"'Were  we  not  right.  Your  Excellency? '  he  asked. 

"'Yes,  Mr.  Sato,'  I  said,  'you  were  right.  I  went 
to  try  and  stop  the  war.  There  has  n't  been  any 
since,  has  there?" 

"  He  answered  no,  and  said  that  I  was  a  great  and 
good  man. 

"Then  he  explained  that  all  his  friends  were  very 
anxious  to  know  how  I  was  getting  along.  Some- 
times, he  said,  they  would  hear  that  I  was  entirely 
well,  and  again  it  would  be  reported  that  I  was 
dead;  so  they  could  n't  stand  the  uncertainty  any 
longer,  and  collected  money  between  them  and  sent 
Sato  with  a  message  of  good  will  and  some  herb 
medicines. 

"I  took  the  medicines  and  had  my  two  visitors 
served  with  the  nicest  kind  of  boiled  chicken,  some 
chicken  tongue  on  crackers,  rice,  cakes,  and  tea. 
I  wanted  them  to  stay  with  me  for  a  few  days,  telling 
them  that  I  would  treat  them  well ;  but  Mr.  Sato  said 
he  was  already  almost  sick  unto  death  to  get  back 
home,  and  that  he  had  once  or  twice  nearly  turned 
back,  especially  as  his  son  was  so  lonely.  Besides, 
he  said,  he  had  been  driven  almost  to  distraction, 
not  knowing  whether  he  should  find  me  here,  at 
Peking,  or  in  the  south. 

*'When  they  were  ready  to  go  I  gave  them  a  big 


AFTERTHOUGHTS  OF  JAPANESE  WAR     121 

bundle  of  presents  of  all  kinds  for  their  friends  back 
at  Ketuki,  two  hundred  taels  for  the  mission,  and  as 
much  more  to  reimburse  them  for  the  outlay  of  the 
journey.  This  last  he  did  not  want  to  accept,  saying 
that  as  he  had  funds  sufficient  to  take  him  home  he 
was  fearful  that  the  friends  who  had  sent  him  might 
not  like  it.  But  I  prevailed  upon  him  to  take  the 
money. 

"I  think  this  Christianity  makes  poor  and  lowly 
people  bold  and  unafraid,  for  before  Mr.  Sato  and 
his  boy  left  he  wanted  to  know  if  they  might  pray 
for  me.  I  said  they  could,  expecting  that  he  meant 
when  they  got  back  home  again;  but  he  said  some- 
thing to  the  little  son,  and  they  knelt  right  there  at 
the  door  and  said  a  prayer.  I  could  not  keep  my 
heart  from  thumping  in  my  bosom  as  I  watched  that 
poor  man  and  his  frightened  little  boy  praying  to 
God  —  the  God  that  will  deal  with  me  and  with 
them  and  all  mankind  —  that  I  might  be  well  of  my 
injuries. 

"  I  was  sorry  to  see  them  go. 

"In  this  old  yamen,  which  for  twenty  odd  years 
was  mine,  strange  scenes  have  been  enacted,  great 
councils  held,  and  midnight  conferences  affecting 
the  whole  world  have  taken  place.  I  have  received 
royalties  and  dukes,  ambassadors,  ministers,  mur- 
derers, robbers,  and  beggars.  Men  have  been  sen- 
tenced to  death  from  here,  others  have  been  made 
glad  with  leases  of  lands,  railroad  contracts,  or  the 
gift  of  public  office.   But  during  each  and  every  oc- 


122       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

currence,  whatever  its  nature,  I  have  been  complete 
master  of  my  house  and  myself  —  until  an  hour  ago. 
Then  it  was  that  for  the  first  time  did  I  believe  the 
favour  was  being  conferred  upon  me." 

Li  was  not  "master"  of  the  yamen  at  this  writing, 
simply  making  it  his  headquarters  during  his  stay 
in  Tientsin. 

"Poor,  good  Mr.  Sato,  all  the  way  from  Japan  to 
offer  a  Christian  prayer  for  the  'heathen*  old  Vice- 
roy! I  did  not  know  that  any  one  outside  my  own 
family  cared  enough  about  me  for  such  a  thing. 

"I  do  not  love  the  Japanese,  but  perhaps  Chris- 
tianity would  help  them!" 


CHAPTER  VIII 


.'^ 


A  COUP   D  ETAT   ON   THE  HORIZON 

The  first  intimation  in  Li's  memoirs  that  he  antici- 
pates serious  trouble  for  the  country  through  the 
machinations  of  what  he  terms  the  "reformers"  and 
"reactionaries"  occurs  in  the  following  lines,  which, 
though  accompanied  by  indication  neither  of  place 
nor  date,  were  probably  written  at  Nanking  in  early 
May  of  1898,  because  treating  in  the  first  part  of 
the  death  of  Prince  Kung,  which  occurred  on  May 
3  of  that  year :  — 

"Not  in  many  months  have  I  heard  news  that  is 
so  disheartening  as  that  which  came  yesterday  and 
is  confirmed  to-day.  All  night  long  I  had  repeated 
petitions  to  our  ancestors  that  it  might  not  be  true; 
but  Heaven  sent  for  Prince  Kung,  my  old  and  tried 
friend,  who  has  been  a  fighter  in  the  political  and 
other  arenas  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  who  in 
influence  during  all  that  time  has  been  as  a  water 
level  for  rash  and  hasty  ones  in  the  Government. 

"The  Prince  has  been  a  true  patriot,  and  the 
country  will  miss  him.  If  he  had  died  ten  years  ago, 
or  even  just  following  the  Japanese  troubles,  the 
blow  to  order  and  moderation  would  not  have  been 
so  severe ;  but  his  going  now,  to  be  a  guest  on  High, 
when  China  needs  all  the  balance  she  can  secure, 
when  a  ferment  like  the  very  yeast  of  hell  is  working 


124       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

in  every  part  of  the  body  politic,  and  when  a  lot 
of  crazy-brained  zealots  and  bigots  have  the  ear  of 
the  Throne,  if  not  the  arm,  his  strong  mind  and  fear- 
less voice  is  needed  at  Peking. 

"It  would  seem  that  a  great  many  people  do  not 
imagine  they  are  doing  things  at  all  unless  they  are 
going  to  extremes.  From  the  cold  of  the  Calgan 
snows  they  rush  to  the  heats  of  India  or  the  other 
way  about.  It  is  either  murder  with  them  or  a 
sickening  honey  kindness.  They  want  to  yell  at  the 
top  of  their  voices  from  a  temple  pagoda,  or  go  down 
to  a  deep  well  and  whisper  at  the  bottom.  Some 
brains  are  so  constituted,  or  mixed,  that  if  a  thing 
does  not  appear  white  to  their  mental  vision  it  is 
black,  if  it  is  n't  yellow  it  is  green,  if  not  red  it  is 
blue.  They  take  no  bath  at  all,  or  they  scrub  their 
bodies  until  no  skin  is  left.  They  will  eat  like  hogs 
and  just  so  often,  or  they  go  fasting,  and  scorn  a 
chicken's  tongue  or  a  thin  cracker. 

"It  is  just  so  with  too  many  of  our  public  men. 
They  are  like  acrobats  that  jump  from  one  side  of 
the  stage  to  another,  just  to  let  people  see  that  it  can 
be  done. 

"Oh,  but  Prince  Kung  was  not  one  of  these,  and 
it  grieves  me  more  than  I  like  to  confess  that  he  has 
been  removed  by  the  gods  from  the  place  in  life  he 
so  well  filled,  and  wherein  at  present  he  is  so  direly 
needed.  If  I  could  bring  him  back  I  would  turn  over, 
for  the  nation's  sake,  more  than  one  half  of  what  I 
own;  even  though  Kung  himself  never  helped  me 


A   COUP  D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON    125 

to  accumulate  a  dollar,  but  rather  put  himself  in  my 
way  two  or  three  times. 

"But,  after  all,  what  is  wealth?  My  noble  and 
severe  parent  had  it  in  goodly  quantity,  but  it  can- 
not be  said  that  it  made  him  happy.  He  was  far 
from  being  a  happy  man.  I  suppose  that  when  he 
was  the  husband  of  one  wife  he  thought  he  would  be 
happy  with  two;  but  when  the  second  was  there,  it 
appeared  his  idea  of  happiness  called  for  another.  I 
am  glad  that  it  did  —  but  this  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  argument  —  for  that  third  and  lesser  wife 
was  my  own  good  and  mild  mother,  who  scolded 
only  when  it  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  who 
raised  a  son  to  my  father  who  has  been  able  by  his 
own  exertions  to  lift  himself  above  all  the  other 
children,  and  at  the  same  time  'put  rice  in  their 
pockets  and  hams  over  their  shoulders'  [i.e.,  to  assist 
to  wealth  and  office]. 

"And  so  it  is  with  many  people.  I  remember 
when  I  was  a  youth  at  Lou-Chow  that  riches  and 
promotions  seemed  as  very  gifts  of  the  Celestial 
Regions.  But  I  have  found  that  neither  great  wealth 
nor  distinguished  decorations,  nor  both  put  together, 
will  guarantee  a  man  against  unrest  of  mind  or 
turmoil  of  soul.  How  great  and  honourable  is  the 
Peacock's  Feather  of  the  Throne,  yet  how  much 
easier  rests  the  head  on  goose  feathers! 

"Therefore  would  I  give  about  all  I  possess  in 
worldly  goods  if  Prince  Kung  could  be  spared  to 
China  another  year  or  two.  I  am  getting  old,  almost 


126       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

beyond  the  years  of  strength,  and  I  fear  that  unless 
supported  strongly  I  cannot  withstand  a  long  battle 
against  the  hurly-burly,  hit-or-miss  crowd,  able  to 
see  little  beyond  its  own  compounds. 

"Prince  Kung  and  myself,  in  the  French  crisis  of 
1 88 1,  stood  together,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  voice  to 
voice ;  and  from  that  day  to  the  present  —  this  is 
sad  to  think  that  he  is  silenced  —  we  have  laboured 
for  the  safety  of  our  country,  and  have  saved  her 
from  being  sliced  like  a  watermelon. 

"Reformers!  reformers!  —  idiots  and  liars,  and 
enemies  of  their  country,  I  call  them ! 

"Under  the  guise  of  reform,  they,  led  by  one  who 
is  close  to  the  Emperor,  would  turn  things  topsy- 
turvy in  a  month,  and  build  a  nation  over  again. 
K'ang  Yuwei  is  a  good  man  in  himself,  and  deserves 
his  doctorate  of  letters  —  I  admire  his  writings  and 
his  speech  very  much  —  but  he  does  not  seem  to 
realise  that  in  advocating  wholesale  reforms,  even 
though  he  do  so  with  the  best  of  motives,  he  is 
simply  affording  a  different  class  of  '  reformers '  — 
crazy,  hunchbacked  barbarians  —  opportunity  to 
carry  on  this  propaganda  against  the  foreigners. 
K'ang  Yuwei,  because  of  his  learning,  his  brilliancy, 
and  his  earnestness,  has  the  Emperor  under  his 
thumb,  and  he  is  holding  him  there  until  the  other 
'reformers'  (who  laugh  over  their  moon  shoulders 
at  both)  have  the  fanatics  aroused  to  do  injury  to 
the  foreigners,  and  thereby  bring  upon  our  heads 
the  maledictions  of  the  Powers." 


A  COUP   D'ETAT  ON  THE   HORIZON     127 

''May  30,  1898.  —  I  am  too  ill  to  go  to  Peking, 
though  I  feel  that  what  weight  I  may  exert  to  offset 
K'ang  Yuwei's  influence  at  Court  is  sorely  needed. 
It  was  regrettable  that  I  could  not  attend  the  funeral 
of  dear  Prince  Kung." 

''June  6.  —  My  health  is  somewhat  better,  but 
I  fear  the  country  is  becoming  ill." 

"June  7. — To-day,  even  in  the  sadness  of  my 
soul,  I  have  attended  to  much  correspondence.  I 
took  occasion  to  write  K'ang  Yuwei,  warning  him 
that  he  was  leading  the  Emperor  too  rapidly  through 
forests  neither  of  them  had  traversed  before.  My 
letter  will  anger  them,  and  I  shall  receive,  if  any- 
thing, a  most  spirited  retort  from  the  Emperor's 
tutor.  Nevertheless,  I  would  write  just  such  a  letter 
every  day,  and  knock,  if  vainly,  for  admittance  to 
the  audience  room,  if  I  thought  the  mad  trend  of 
affairs  could  be  stayed." 

"June  8.  —  The  Emperor,  led  on  by  a  few  first 
notions  of  reform,  would  turn  water  into  rice,  wine 
and  sand  into  fine  meal.  K'ang,  with  the  best  of 
intentions,  appears  to  have  lost  his  balance,  and  of 
course  the  Emperor  is  unbalanced  with  him.  They 
probably  do  not  realise  that  their  own  childlike 
upsetting  of  things  simply  gives  a  cover  under  which 
the  anti-foreign  agitators  may  continue  their  suicidal 
propaganda.    Only  to-day  I  received  by  a  courier, 


128        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

without  knowing  who  sent  it,  or  why  it  should  have 
been  sent  to  me  above  all  others,  a  vermilion  placard 
which  reads:  'The  Throne  is  instituting  wholesale 
reforms.  Let  all  patriots  band  together  that  the 
foreign  devils  may  be  driven  out  of  the  country, 
so  that  the  people  of  the  kingdom  may  enjoy  the 
gracious  and  beneficial  reforms  the  Emperor  may 
provide.' 

"I  hear  that  Mong  of  the  Board  of  Rites  has 
rashly  attempted  to  memorialise  the  Throne  against 
some  of  the  Board  and  one  or  two  of  the  Censors. 
Poor  fool,  he  is  taking  the  Emperor  at  his  word, 
and  thinks  that  he  is  already  in  the  latter's  confi- 
dence." 

^^  June  17.  —  I  am  leaving  for  Peking  to-night, 
determined  to  see  Tze  Hsi  herself,  and  present  the 
situation  to  her  in  the  plainest  manner,  just  as  I 
see  it." 

"  Tientsin  [without  date].  —  It  was  told  me  since 
my  arrival  here  —  people  do  not  care  what  they  say 
to  a  man  when  he  is  ill  —  that  '  all  the  patriots ' 
are  regarding  me  as  a  reactionary,  while  I  formerly 
posed  as  a  reformer. 

"If  these  very  forward  and  intelligent  persons 
would  define  the  words  as  I  do  they  would  find  that 
they  have  been  changed  about.  I  think  that  it  is 
possible  for  me  to  say  with  truth  and  pride  that  for 
twenty-five  years  I  have  been  the  champion  of  true 
reform  throughout  the  empire ;  but  I  do  not  believe 


A   COUP   D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON     129 

in  tearing  down  one's  house  in  order  to  build  a  new 
one  which  is  to  have  a  gable  which  the  other  lacked. 
I  think  if  a  man  wants  a  gable  or  another  window  or 
a  door  to  his  yamen,  he  should  go  right  ahead  and 
make  the  alterations;  but  a  man  is  insane  who  will 
tear  down  his  entire  length  of  wall  in  order  to  change 
the  place  of  entrance  to  his  yard.  Why  not  kill  all 
of  your  flock  of  turkeys  because  one  of  them  has  a 
limpy  foot? 

"K'ang  proposes  to  cure  all  the  ills  of  the  nation 
by  one  great  dose  of  reform  medicine.  He  would 
have  the  Emperor  building  his  own  fires,  and  the 
ladies  of  the  household  washing  their  own  linen.  He 
thinks  the  Board  of  Mines  and  Railways  will  in  a 
week  or  a  month  solve  problems,  and  do  away  with 
prejudices  that  have  occupied  the  attention  of  this 
country  for  two  thousand  years.  He  believes  that 
every  man  with  a  grievance  should  have  the  right  to 
memorialise  the  Throne,  and  tell  his  difficulties  into 
ears  that  are  already  burdened  with  such  things. 

"K'ang  Yuwei,  you  are  an  excellent  educator, 
your  writings  are  elegant,  and  better  speech  than 
yours  is  not  heard  in  all  the  Middle  Kingdom,  nor 
beyond;  but  you  are  making  an  ass  of  the  young 
Emperor,  and  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  Tze 
Hsi  will  make  a  bigger  ass  of  you !  .  .  .  I  am  sorry 
that  this  is  so,  for  your  sake;  but  I  am  more  sorrowful 
still  for  the  sake  of  the  country,  and  within  the  next 
few  hours  I  am  going  to  speak  these  words  to  your 
face : — 


130       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"'You  are  a  reformer;  yes,  a  reformer  who  will 
make  a  back  handspring  into  a  worse  mess  than  you 
are  trying  now  to  get  out  of.  I  would  not  say  these 
words  to  the  Emperor  —  he's  too  inexperienced  to 
know  that  they  are  true,  and  too  light-headed  to 
believe  them  if  he  knew.  Nor  will  I  speak  against 
you  to  the  Dowager  Empress.  But  if  I  were  the  ruler 
of  China  to-day  I  would  send  you  back  to  teach  a 
lot  of  undergraduates  their  letters,  or  I  would  part 
your  head  from  your  shoulders! 

"'Remember,  Honourable  K'ang,  chief  tutor  to 
His  Majesty,  I  give  you  credit  for  a  patriotic  heart 
at  the  same  time  that  I  tell  you  your  brain  is  a 
muddy  mill-pond  called  reform,  in  which  older  and 
stronger  men  cannot  see  a  decent  fish".  You  love 
your  country,  but  you  would  make  a  fool  of  her;  just 
as  the  lovesick  rustic,  rattle-brained  over  his  new 
toy,  would  make  her  forever  ashamed  by  embracing 
her  in  the  market-place.' 

"Being  called  to  the  palace  now  for  consultation, 
I  shall  make  an  effort,  according  to  my  duty  as  I 
see  it,  to  put  a  damper  upon  some  of  these  alleged 
'reforms.' 

"A  reform  that  means  going  backward  is  laugh- 
able when  it  is  not  tragic. 

"A  reform  that  tears  everything  down  before 
attempting  to  build  up  is  a  hurricane. 

"A  reform  that  assumes  that  the  whole  world 
went  bad  in  a  week,  and  that  it  can  be  made  good 
in  a  day,  is  a  senseless  thing. 


A   COUP  D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON     131 

"  I  hate  a  professional  reformer  as  I  hate  a  nag- 
ging woman ;  each  has  the  idea  that  the  other  party- 
was  not  endowed  with  even  a  place  for  brains,  to  say 
nothing  of  possessing  any  mentality. 

"But  in  my  very  soul  I  feel  that  the  wild  new- 
doings  of  the  Emperor  have  given  tremendous 
encouragement  to  the  anti-foreign  sentiment;  and 
that  once  again,  but  without  the  strong  power  for 
suppression  which  was  mine  in  the  days  of  1870  and 
onward,  when  I  put  an  end  to  the  killings  and  wrong- 
doings in  Pe-chili,  I  am  called  upon  to  do  my  utmost 
in  the  cause  of  internal  order,  that  the  excesses  of  the 
country  may  not  bring  the  outside  Governments 
within  our  gates  again." 

"At  the  house  of  the  late  Prince  Kiing.  July  9. 
Hour  of  the  Dog.  —  Since  my  last  arrival  at  the 
capital,  I  have  scarcely  put  in  an  hour  alone.  In 
truth  no  period  of  my  life,  of  equal  length  of  time, 
has  been  so  filled  with  work  that  should  have  accom- 
plished much  but  which,  I  fear,  really  amounts  to 
so  little.  It  is  too  bad  I  am  not  an  ignorant  man 
owning  a  single  dromedary.  Then  I  would  crawl 
close  to  my  beast  on  the  roadside,  or  in  his  stable, 
and  sleep  in  peace  until  morning;  but  youthful 
ambitions  and  forty  years  of  unceasing  labours  have 
brought  me  an  old  age  of  turmoil  and  upheaval,  and 
I  shall  not  shirk  my  responsibilities,  even  though  the 
tired  blood  be  spilled  upon  the  ground  through  the 
great  artery  of  my  neck!" 


132       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

''Home  Place,  July  ii.  —  For  more  than  two 
hours  after  midnight  I  was  at  the  Empress  Dow- 
ager's own  palace,  and  for  more  than  one-half  of 
that  time  I  was  in  secret  audience  with  that  woman 
who  has  often  said  that  twenty  minutes  was  suffi- 
cient time  for  her  in  which  to  give  orders  and  answers 
to  the  Council,  the  Cabinet,  and  the  Foreign  Office 
combined. 

"  It  was  a  bad  omen  that  the  Dowager  held  in  her 
hand  a  communication  from  Kang-i,  and  that  Tung 
Fuh-sing  had  been  in  audience  with  Her  Majesty 
thrice  during  the  day.  Fuh-sing,  too,  claims  to  be  a 
'reformer,'  but  his  idea  is  to  'reform'  the  finances, 
'reform'  the  Emperor,  and  'reform'  the  Christians. 
He  has  Kang-i  with  him,  or  rather  is  with  Kang-i, 
and  together  their  influence  over  Tze  Hsi  is  indeed 
deplorable  —  quite  as  bad,  except  in  a  different 
direction  and  for  different  ends  as  K'ang's  crazy 
dominance  of  His  Majesty.  Yet  one  begets  the  other, 
for  the  more  foolish  the  Emperor  becomes  under  the 
tutorship  of  K'ang  —  curse  his  snake  hide,  why  does 
he  not  teach  only  things  of  which  he  is  competent? 
—  the  more  rabid  becomes  Her  Majesty  under  the 
evil  eye  of  Kang-i,  Tung,  and  Prince  Tuan.  If  she 
would  but  listen  to  the  wise  counsels  of  Prince  Ching 
and  Jung-lu,  her  manner  toward  all  the  world  would 
soften,  and  her  ending  years  would  be  those  of  peace 
and  comfort  such  as  she  fully  deserves. 

"I  believe  with  the  flight  of  time  her  ambition 
grows,  and   she   hopes  to   live  on  for  ever.     Poor 


A   COUP   D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON    133 

Empress !  —  she  does  not  understand  that  these 
constant  bickerings,  midnight  counsels,  and  harsh 
words  are  making  her  life  as  bitter  as  aloe  juice  and 
iron  mixed  with  rain  water. 

"To  me  Her  Majesty  put  the  question  direct,  as 
to  where  I  should  be  found  in  the  event  of  a  great 
trouble. 

'"Just  as  always,  Your  Illustrious  Majesty,'  I 
replied. 

'"And  where  is  that?'  she  questioned  further. 

*"  A  million  pardons,  but  does  Your  Majesty  need 
an  answer  to  that  question?* 

"She  was  apparently  impatient  with  my  seem- 
ingly evasive  answer,  but  she  did  not  look  angrily 
upon  me  as  is  her  custom  when  offended  ever  so 
slightly. 

"'But  I  wish  to  know!'  she  commanded. 

"Then  I  told  her  that  I  should  be  found  always 
with  her  and  China,  just  as  I  had  been  all  my  days. 

" '  My  days,  Your  Majesty,'  I  said,  '  are  not  many; 
but  such  as  they  are,  you  may  count  upon  your  old 
Grand  Secretary.' 

'"In  any  event?'  she  persisted. 

'"In  any  and  all  events,'  I  answered. 

"Then  she  indicated  that  the  present  audience 
was  at  an  end,  but  as  I  had  remained  about  the 
palace  until  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  as 
I  hoped  she  would  not  find  it  necessary  to  summon 
me  again  to-morrow  night,  which  she  had  intimated 
might  be  the  case,  I  did  not  immediately  retire;  but 


134       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

urged  that  if  there  was  a  premonition  of  trouble  in 
her  mind,  and  if  she  reposed  in  me  the  trust  I  hoped 
and  beheved  she  did,  would  it  not  please  her  to  put 
me  at  greater  ease  regarding  her  plans? 

"She  had  been  so  cordial  and  amiable  in  com- 
parison to  her  ordinary  wont  that  I  did  not  believe 
my  further  query  would  offend  her,  but  in  an  instant 
she  was  alive  with  wrath  and  angry  words,  and  I 
immediately  withdrew. 

"I  have  seen  women  something  like  her  before, 
but  they  were  in  my  house,  and  it  was  not  necessary 
for  me  to  get  down  on  my  knees  to  them." 

"August  [no  date].  — -If  my  counsel  amounts  to 
anything  in  the  affairs  of  this  nation,  I  am  unable  to 
see  in  which  direction  or  quarter,  for  I  find  myself 
utterly  opposed  to  the  desires  and  policies  of  either 
one  of  the  factions  that  seem  bound  to  bring  about 
a  great  social  upheaval,  if  nothing  more. 

"The  Emperor — less  of  a  monarch  than  my 
youngest  son  —  is  inaccessible  to  friend  or  foe,  and 
I  am  beginning  to  feel  that  his  end  is  near.  But 
really  I  should  have  no  pity;  nor  have  I,  as  a  matter 
of  fact;  for,  under  the  spell  of  those  feather-minded 
ones  about  him,  he  refused  to  listen,  even  listen,  to 
certain  words  of  wisdom  I  would  have  uttered.  With 
his  eyes  wide  open  like  a  frightened  feline,  he  still 
was  so  blind  to  all  truth  and  all  manifestations  of 
events  that  the  Palace  of  Heaven  itself  would  be 
but  a  mere  speck  upon  his  vision. 


A  COUP   D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON     135 

"The  One-Thought  K'ang  has  gone.  What  a  pity 
a  year  ago  did  not  see  him  back  with  his  classes!" 

[Without  date.]  —  "It  is  as  I  thought  regarding 
K'ang.  I  did  not  beUeve  he  had  even  sufficient 
reason  or  wisdom  to  perceive  the  avalanche  that  he 
was  bringing  about  his  own  head  with  the  great 
reform  wind  he  himself  stirred  up.  He  is  gone  from 
Peking,  and  I  trust  he  has  not  failed  to  perform  that 
act  which  would  fittingly  crown  his  work  of  the  past 
few  years.  I  have  no  personal  animosity  toward 
Yuwei,  nor  his  memory;  but  I  hope  he  has  taken 
himself  to  other  spheres,  where  he  may  be  of  some 
use  to  K'ang  and  those  about  him.  I  wish  his  mem- 
ory well,  and  if  I  knew  for  certain  he  was  dead  I 
would  make  an  offering  this  very  hour." 

[Without  date.]  —  "Personally  and  with  my  own 
hand  —  for  Fen-lo  is  no  longer  with  me,  and  I  have 
found  few  others  to  have  any  confidence  in  —  I  have 
sent  brief  letters  to  my  friends  in  the  foreign  lega- 
tions, telling  them  of  the  events  which  they  may  soon 
expect.  If  some  of  those  who  always  enjoy  picking 
at  the  bones  of  the  old  man  knew  this,  they  would 
be  avowing  that  great  national  secrets  were  being 
divulged  to  the  foreign  devils. 

"I  know  affairs  are  going  to  be  bad  again,  and 
perhaps  there  will  be  a  season  of  massacre  and  burn- 
ing. But  what  can  I  do?  I  have  exhausted  every 
reasonable   resource   in   speech   and   writing,    and 


136       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

through  the  influence  of  such  friends  of  mine  as  still 
may  have  an  opportunity  for  a  hearing  at  Court ;  but 
I  fear  it  is  all  unavailing. 

* '  Jung-lu  sent  me  a  lengthy  communication  to-day. 
He  does  not  say  as  much,  but  I  am  sure  from  the 
tone  of  his  splendid  letter  that  he  feels  that  a  reac- 
tionary movement  of  the  most  momentous  kind  is 
contemplated  by  Her  Majesty.   Jung-lu  knows. 

"He  asks  me  to  send  word  to  my  friends  in  the 
different  Governments  not  to  be  alarmed  at  any 
event  that  may  follow  in  the  next  five  or  six  weeks. 
This  is  just  what  I  have  already  done.  We  do  not 
want  the  Powers  to  think  that  in  any  emergency 
we  have  been  taken  by  surprise,  or  that  widespread 
outrages  upon  native  Christians  or  missionaries  will 
necessarily  follow.  It  is  true  that  we  fear  these 
very  things;  but  the  coming  of  foreign  troops  would 
only  increase  the  tension  at  this  time,  and  perhaps 
be  the  very  means  of  precipitating  a  vast  outbreak. 

"Her  Majesty  itches  for  the  name  of  being  Ruler. 
She  is  not  satisfied  with  the  amount  of  glory  that 
has  been  and  is  hers,  and  her  mind  has  been  very 
fully  poisoned  of  late  against  all  things  foreign  or 
Christian.  The  best  that  we  can  do  —  we  who  are 
still  friends  of  hers  (though  some  of  us  are  held  at  a 
great  distance)  —  is  to  keep  our  peace  as  best  we 
may,  and  not  too  strongly  oppose  the  radical  hot- 
heads who  are  apparently  completely  in  the  ascend- 
ancy at  the  palace.  Her  Majesty  would  not  permit 
a  physical  injury  to  be  done  even  to  the  end  of  one 


A  COUP   D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON     137 

of  my  toe-nails,  though  I  might  openly  oppose  her 
in  the  scheme  she  has  on  foot;  but,  for  the  sake  of 
the  greater  good  in  the  end,  I  must  appear  to  be  in 
accord.  What  does  it  avail  a  man  to  whistle  in  the 
teeth  of  a  gale,  or  cast  a  jug  of  water  against  a  tidal 
wave? 

"Apparently,  for  once  in  my  life,  I  am  forgotten 
by  everybody.  I  wish  that  I  might  return  the 
compliment." 

With  a  mere  line,  "She  is  once  again  in  name  — 
as  she  has  been  ever  in  fact  —  the  Ruler,"  Viceroy 
Li,  on  24th  September,  dismisses  the  coup  d'etat  of 
the  20th,  by  which  Tze  Hsi  assumed  again  the  full 
title  and  responsibility  for  the  conduct  of  the  affairs 
of  the  State. 

At  one  side  of  the  single  column  of  written  char- 
acters, which  announced  so  briefly  the  startling 
change  in  Government,  is  the  official  edict,  cut  from 
the  "Peking  Gazette,"  the  organ  of  the  Court,  of 
2 1  St  September,  and  which  in  its  more  important 
part,  somewhat  condensed,  is  as  follows:  — 

"Our  empire  is  now  labouring  under  certain  great 
and  important  stresses,  and  steady  and  wise  guid- 
ance is  needed  in  all  branches  of  the  public  service. 
We  ourselves  have  laboured  diligently,  night  and 
day,  to  perform  our  duties,  but  in  spite  of  all  our 
anxious  energy  and  care  we  are  in  constant  fear  lest 
delay  should  be  the  undoing  of  the  country.  We 
now  respectfully  recall  the  fact  that  Her  Imperial 


138       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

Majesty  the  Empress  Dowager  has  on  two  occa- 
sions, since  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  H.M. 
T'ung-Chih,  performed  the  functions  of  Regent,  and 
that  in  her  administrations  of  the  Government  she 
displayed  complete  and  admirable  qualities  of  per- 
fection which  enabled  her  successfully  to  cope  with 
every  difficulty  that  arose. 

"Recollecting  the  serious  burden  of  the  respon- 
sibility  we  owe  to  our  ancestors  and  to  the  Nation, 
WE  have  repeatedly  besought  Her  Majesty  to  con- 
descend once  more  to  administer  the  Government. 
Now  she  has  graciously  honoured  us  by  granting 
OUR  prayer,  a  blessing,  a  heaven-sent  blessing,  for 
all  OUR  subjects. 

"From  this  day  forth  Her  Majesty  will  transact 
the  business  of  the  Government  in  the  Side  Hall  of 
the  Palace,  and  on  the  day  after  to-morrow  we  our- 
selves at  the  head  of  our  Princes  and  Ministers  shall 
perform  obeisance  before  her  in  the  Hall  of  Diligent 
Government. 

"The  Yamens  concerned  shall  respectfully  and 
with  despatch  make  all  such  arrangements  as  are 
necessary  to  this  ceremonial. 

"The  words  of  the  Emperor. 

"Given  this  Day." 

(Without  date.)  —  "I  am  in  fear  and  trembling 
for  what  may  happen  in  Peking  and  throughout  the 
north.  The  old-style  'reformer'  is  gone,  and  the 
newer-style  '  reformer  *  is  here ! 


A   COUP   D'ETAT  ON  THE  HORIZON     139 

"There  are  whispered  threats  in  all  the  depart- 
ments of  Government  against  the  Christians,  and 
I  already  hear  rumours  of  disturbances  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Paoting-fu.  If  the  evil  influences  about  Her 
Majesty  are  allowed  to  go  unchecked,  and  political 
insanity  reigns  within  the  Forbidden  City,  I  see  only 
a  few  short  months  of  national  tranquillity. 

"My  messages  of  preparation  have  been  well 
received  by  the  legations,  and  five  of  them,  those 
of  England,  Russia,  Germany,  France,  and  Japan, 
have  sent  notes  of  thanks.  Minister  Conger  called 
in  person,  and  assured  me  that  my  words,  which  he 
knows  were  sent  to  all,  are  reassuring." 

"  Tientsin,  October  9.  —  A  courier  arriving  from 
the  capital  this  morning  brings  me  many  communi- 
cations of  great  interest.  Jung-lu  writes  of  the  scene 
in  the  palace  when  the  wretched  Kuang  Su  was 
made  to  kneel  and  acknowledge  that  he  was  nothing 
at  all.  Jung-lu  says  that  Her  Majesty  was  a  veri- 
table lioness  at  the  ceremonies  of  obeisance,  and 
treated  the  young  Emperor  worse  than  she  has 
often  treated  unruly  eunuchs. 

"According  to  what  he  writes,  —  and  he  declares 
it  to  be  true,  —  the  Empress  Dowager  threatened 
Kuang  Su  with  the  loss  of  his  life  if  he  did  not  read- 
ily consent  to  living  with  the  Empress  Consort  [Tze 
Hsi's  niece  and  spy],  and  the  Emperor  said  he  would 
live  with  her  and  love  her.  What  an  outrage,  when 
personally  I  know  he  hates  the  sight  of  her! 


140        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

"And  then,  when  Chen  Fei,  whom  the  poor 
Emperor  has  loved  ...  as  any  young  man  desires 
to  love  his  true  wife,  made  a  plea  for  him  to  Her 
Majesty,  the  latter  ordered  her  to  be  carried  from 
the  room  and  cast  into  a  lone  barred  chamber  of  one 
of  the  administration  palaces.  This  I  regard  as  very 
wrong.  It  is  not  enough  for  him  to  be  humiliated 
and  degraded,  even  before  the  eyes  of  miserable 
eunuchs  and  servers,  but  the  only  comfort  of  his 
domestic  life  is  snatched  from  him.  Of  course 
Jung-lu  has  no  sympathy  with  the  deposed  monarch, 
neither  has  Yuan  Shih-k'ai;  but  I  am  going  to  ask 
them  as  the  greatest  favour  they  can  do  me  at  the 
present  time  to  prevail  upon  Tze  Hsi  to  allow  the 
Emperor  to  have  Chen  Fei  with  him  in  his  prison, 
the  Ocean  Terrace." 

There  is  no  record  that  Li  Hung  Chang  ever  wrote 
to  the  Empress  Dowager  or  to  Jung-lu  or  Yuan  Shih- 
k'ai  in  behalf  of  Chen  Fei,  the  favourite  wife  of  the 
Emperor,  she  who  was  called,  because  of  her  beauty 
of  form  and  clearness  of  complexion,  the  "Pearl 
Concubine."  The  unfortunate  young  woman  was 
kept  under  close  confinement  for  nearly  two  years, 
without  again  seeing  Kuang  Su,  except  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Empress  Dowager;  and  she  finally  met 
death  by  being  thrown  down  one  of  the  wells  of  the 
Forbidden  City,  by  Tze  Hsi's  orders,  as  the  Court 
took  its  hurried  flight  upon  the  entrance  into  Peking 
of  the  allied  forces  in  1900. 


CHAPTER   IX 

AT   THE   czar's   CORONATION 

Returning  to  China  in  1896,  after  his  attendance 
as  representative  of  his  country  at  the  coronation 
of  the  Russian  Czar,  Li  Hung  Chang,  for  the  first 
time  in  his  memoirs,  speaks  of  his  own  selection 
by  the  Throne  to  go  to  St.  Petersburg,  though  at  an 
eadier  date  in  the  same  year  he  has  a  single  line 
referring  to  a  Chinese  ambassador  at  the  ceremony: 

"Prince  Chang  Chi-chun  has  been  chosen  by  the 
Sacred  Car  [Their  Majesties]  to  represent  them  at 
the  crowning  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia." 

Though  his  diary  indicates  that  he  wrote  a  great 
deal  on  the  journey  from  Peking  to  St.  Petersburg, 
it  contains  not  a  single  comment  regarding  his  own 
appointment  until  he  is  again  upon  Chinese  soil :  — 

"I  am  back  once  more  and  my  spirit  is  pleased, 
for  it  best  fits  an  old  man  to  be  at  home  among  his 
kind.  Old  men  —  at  least  I  think  so  —  are  not  taken 
up  with  the  sights  of  strange  things  or  other  lands, 
for  they  are,  at  such  an  age,  preparing  for  the  sights 
of  the  Place  of  Seven  Springs,  of  which  they  have 
been  told  so  much  and  know  so  little. 

"I  wonder  why  Russia  asked  the  Throne  to  send 
me?  It  was  most  certainly  a  great  compliment,  and 
I  have  a  right  to  feel  flattered.  But  Chang  Chi-chun 
was  very  worthy  of  the  honour,  and  he  informed  me 


142       MEMOIRS   OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

how  well  he  was  suited.  Just  then  came  word  from 
the  Russians  that  my  coming  would  please  them 
better.  That  was  a  blow  to  Chi-chun,  and  not  very- 
pleasing  to  the  Empress,  but  I  was  told  that  from 
the  very  beginning  I  had  been  the  choice  of  the 
Throne. 

"The  Russians  have  for  long  tried  to  impress 
me  with  the  idea  that  they  hold  me  in  the  highest 
esteem.  Perhaps  they  do.  Anyway  they  may  have 
their  motives  for  all  this.  And  I  have  no  doubt  they 
have;  but  I  could  tell  them  that  my  own  country's 
interests  are  above  all  other  considerations,  and  if  I 
show  favour  to  Russia  in  any  matter,  I  do  so  because 
I  believe  China  will  be  the  ultimate  gainer.  I  have 
tried  in  years  past  to  make  Russia  realise  that  Korea 
could  not  be  taken  from  us,  but  the  standing  of  that 
country  has  been  changed  of  late,  and  the  Czar  can 
hope  to  gain  nothing  by  flattering  me  with  honours 
or  preferences. 

"Still  the  coronation  was  a  wonderful  sight,  even 
if  I  must  say  this  after  having  been  told  that  I  was 
the  centre  of  attraction;  more  so,  the  Czar  told  me, 
than  he  himself.  ;"But  all  this  is  Western  flattery, 
for  could  I  not  see  That  the  beautiful  Czarina  was  the 
eye  of  the  peacock? 

"When  she  spoke  gracious  things  to  me  and  lifted 
her  cup  of  wine  toward  me,  and  smiled,  I  could  well 
believe  that  that  was  a  compliment  to  remember. 
When  I  told  the  Empress  and  her  ladies  upon  my 
return  about  the  beauties  of  the  Russian  Czar's  wife, 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         143 

they  all  said  she  must  be  even  as  lovely  as  the  pic- 
tures of  her  which  I  had  brought  to  them  as  tokens 
from  the  Russian  Court. 

"The  Dowager  asked  me  many  trying  questions 
about  the  Russian  Court,  which  I  tried  as  best  I 
could  to  answer  intelligently.  She  wanted  to  know  if 
the  Czarina  was  a  political  power,  and  if  she  had 
many  eunuchs  about  her;  but  I  answered  that  the 
Czarina  was  raising  a  family  of  her  own,  and  even 
giving  her  breasts  to  her  children ;  and  that  eunuchs 
were  unknown  in  Russia. 

"She  said  she  wished  I  had  learned  how  the 
Russian  Empress  had  kept  her  fertility.  But  I  told 
her  that  the  Russian  Empress  was  not  at  all  old 
(only  half  my  own  age),  and  a  very  careful  woman. 

"  I  did  not  intend  to  offend  Her  Majesty  in  any 
way,  but  she  told  me  that  she  would  question  me  about 
Russia  at  some  later  time,  and  announced  that  she 
must  speak  with  her  ladies.  This  was  Her  Majesty's 
way  of  telling  me  the  audience  was  at  an  end." 

"215/  Day  of  the  12th  Moon.  I  have  received 
notification  that  I  am  to  forfeit  one  year's  pay  for 
a  breach  of  ceremony  at  the  palace.  This  is  a  small 
matter,  the  fine,  but  I  should  be  glad  to  know  in 
what  respect  I  offended  Tze  Hsi." 

"215^  Day  of  the  12th  Moon.  Later.  —  Messengers 
from  the  Throne  have  just  arrived  bringing  a  copy 
of  the  edict  conferring  upon  me  the  Order  of  the 


144        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

Golden  Dragon.  The  original  edict  was  written,  says 
the  copy,  by  Tze  Hsi  herself.  I  am  inclined  to  think 
my  breach  of  Court  etiquette  was  not  serious  to  her 
private  mind,  although  her  official  mind  fined  me 
37,000  taels  for  it! 

"The  Order  of  the  Golden  Dragon!  I  am  truly 
well  pleased,  although  I  had  expected  it  before  I 
went  on  the  long  journey  to  the  Capital  of  Russia. 

"If  I  was  not  a  plain  man  I  should  quite  think  I 
was  a  member  of  the  Imperial  family,  for  the  Golden 
Dragon  is  conferred  (except  in  extraordinary  cases) 
only  upon  those  of  the  Blood.  Perhaps  Her  Majesty 
conferred  it  upon  me  so  I  could  not  'offend'  in  her 
presence  again,  for  wearing  the  Golden  Dragon  I  am 
privileged  to  kneel  or  not  as  I  please.  But  I  shall 
always  be  attentive  to  matters  of  ceremony  and 
regard  to  those  above  me,  just  as  I  expect  like  evi- 
dences of  respect  from  those  who  are  not  upon  an 
equality  with  me." 

A  few  days  later  the  Viceroy  writes :  — 
"  Liars  are  the  worst  people  in  all  classes,  I  believe. 
While  my  friends  are  rejoicing  and  sending  me  long 
letters  of  congratulation  and  many  gifts,  my  ene- 
mies are  saying  that  the  Order  of  the  Golden 
Dragon  was  conferred  by  Tze  Hsi  upon  me  only  to 
please  Russia,  while  the  fact  that  I  have  been  made 
to  forfeit  a  year's  pay  proves  conclusively  that  I 
deeply  offended  the  Throne  in  the  matter  of  eti- 
quette.   Tseng  [Li's  secretary]  tells  me  that  he  has 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         145 

been  approached  by  a  number  of  very  common 
people,  and  asked  if  it  is  true  that  I  told  the  Empress 
that  our  imperial  princesses  would  have  more  and 
better  children  if  they  followed  the  Czarina's 
example.  What  lies!  What  vicious,  monkey-faced 
lies !  Any  one  with  sense  would  know  that  even  if  I 
dared  I  never  would  address  such  language  to  Her 
Majesty  or  the  ladies  of  the  Blood.  I  interest  myself 
not  at  all  in  the  inner  doings  of  the  Court,  for  it 
is  enough  that  any  man  keep  his  own  household  in 
order. 

"It  is  not  so  much  that  the  lies  have  been  told 
about  me  or  my  sayings.  No ;  for  forty  years  I  have 
been  forced  to  listen  to  such  things;  but  it  is  that  the 
low  and  ignorant,  hearing  such  words,  and  knowing 
that  the  loss  of  a  year's  pay  was  exacted  of  me,  will 
really  believe  I  uttered  such  infamies.  And,  believ- 
ing I  uttered  them,  they  will  think  they  are  true. 
Then  there  will  be  more  scandal  and  talk,  which  is 
all  unnecessary;  for  I  said  not  one  word  which  might, 
seen  either  through  a  mountain  gap-way  or  the  eye 
of  a  needle,  reflect  at  all  upon  the  ladies  of  the  Court. 
I  did  praise  the  Russian  Czarina,  but  I  dispraised 
no  one  else." 

Writing  in  his  diary  at  St.  Petersburg,  the  Grand 
Ambassador  says  among  other  things :  — 

"It  has  been  urged  upon  me  to  return  to  China 
by  way  of  Constantinople  and  the  Suez  Canal,  but 
I  cannot  agree  to  this  plan.    Now  that  I  have  trav- 


146       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

ersed  all  this  distance,  I  want  to  go  to  Germany 
and  France,  then  to  England  and  the  United  States. 
There  are  wonders  for  me  to  lay  eyes  upon  in  all 
these  great  countries;  and,  besides  that,  there  are 
official  duties  to  be  carried  out.  I  am  told  here  that 
I  shall  not  be  received  very  well  in  England ;  but  it 
is  certain  they  will  not  harm  me  there,  nor  shall  I  do 
them  any  injury.  If  the  house  is  cold  and  the  table 
not  set,  I  need  not  remain,  for  the  road  is  long,  and 
the  traveller  who  has  money  can  turn  up  his  nose 
at  town  constables. 

"To-night  I  am  to  attend  another  banquet  given 
by  the  Czar,  which  I  hope  will  not  continue  as  long 
as  the  one  of  last  night.  It  is  true  they  prepare  foods 
especially  for  me,  but  they  do  not  taste  like  the  foods 
at  home,  or  those  of  our  own  cooks  which  we  have 
along.  The  tea,  however,  is  the  best  —  I  brought  it 
myself  as  a  present  to  the  Czar  and  Czarina,  and  Tu 
[his  chef]  tells  them  how  to  make  it!" 

Shortly  before  leaving  Russia  for  the  German 
capital,  the  Ambassador  wrote:  — 

"  On  Monday  we  shall  leave  the  capital  of  the  Czar 
and  travel  toward  the  land  of  the  Germans.  They 
tell  me  it  is  many  hours'  ride  from  here  to  the  frontier 
on  the  west,  and  that  if  we  went  south  it  would  be 
three  times  as  far.  Going  north,  the  Czar's  dominions 
reach  to  the  top  of  the  earth,  where  mountains  and 
lakes  of  ice  are  seen  forever,  through  all  the  moons., 

"Often  and  often  I  had  studied  over  the  maps 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         147 

of  the  countries  of  the  world,  and  I  knew,  of  course, 
that  Russia  was  a  far-reaching  empire ;  but  I  had  to 
travel  to  know  fully  how  immense  and  solid  it  is. 
There  are  vast  plains  and  tremendous  mountains, 
but  there  are  no  seas  or  oceans  coming  in  between, 
and  I  cannot  help  thinking  how  much  more  solid 
and  substantial  this  empire  must  be  than  the  British 
Empire,  with  its  islands  and  possessions  scattered 
like  fowl  over  a  large  barnyard.  China  is  much  like 
Russia  in  this  respect,  too,  and  it  is  sad  that  our 
nation  has  not  yet  learned  how  to  make  all  parts  of 
it  stand  together  as  one  against  the  outsider.  There 
is  this  difference  between  China  and  Russia.  Many 
of  the  nations  agree  to  harass  China,  but  not  any  of 
them  will  bother  Russia.  If  Russia  did  not  want  to 
control  us  in  all  our  home  affairs,  what  a  strong 
alliance  would  be  possible  between  us! 

''Sunday  night.  — All  the  party  attended  a  long 
church  service  this  afternoon,  and  when  it  came  time 
for  my  final  audience  with  the  Czar  I  was  very  fa- 
tigued. Dr.  Morniff,  the  household  physician,  who 
has  been  attached  to  our  party  here  by  courtesy  of 
the  Government,  gave  me  a  hypodermic  of  some- 
thing, and  a  large  bottle  of  white  wine,  so  that  when 
we  reached  the  castle  I  was  feeling  like  a  boy.  I  told 
His  Majesty  that  the  long  service  and  the  smoke  of 
the  incense  nearly  sickened  me,  at  which  he  laughed 
heartily,  showing  his  fine  teeth,  and  said[l  was  about 
the  healthiest-looking  man  about. 


148        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

'"When  are  Your  Majesties  coming  to  China?*  I 
asked  him. 

"Again  he  laughed,  and  said  that  maybe  sometime 
he  would  like  to  arrange  for  his  wife  to  meet  the 
Dowager  Empress  and  the  ladies  of  the  latter's 
Court  somewhere  in  the  Far  East. 

"Nicholas  is  himself  not  a  very  healthy  man,  I 
think.  I  believe  he  stays  indoors  too  much,  or  that 
worry  about  his  life  keeps  him  pale  and  listless.  He 
is  a  small  man  to  rule  a  great  empire;  though  Na- 
poleon, they  tell  me,  was  even  smaller  in  stature. 
But  there  are  many  big  men  in  this  capital.  The 
Czar  is  surrounded  by  them;  and  his  soldiers,  espe- 
cially those  regiments  which  are  of  his  household, 
are  a  magnificent  lot  of  men.  I  believe  the  Japa- 
nese soldiers  would  run  fast  from  these  regiments. 

"I  have  learned  that  we  start  early  to-morrow 
morning.  This  is  not  to  my  taste.  I  should  much 
prefer  to  begin  the  journey  now,  and  sleep  on  the 
train  going.  To  arise  so  early  in  the  morning  seems 
to  be  a  foolish  Western  practice;  foolish  especially 
among  men  of  state,  who  could  so  much  better 
transact  their  affairs  at  night  when  all  is  quiet  and 
the  mind  is  most  alert. 

"But  from  what  I  can  learn,  these  statesmen  and 
lawgivers  look  for  their  pleasures  at  night;  going  to 
banquets,  theatres,  and  fancy  parties;  often  staying 
until  the  light  of  dawn  comes  on  again.  To  this  I 
attribute  much  of  the  intrigue  that  is  known  to  all 
these  courts.   The  women  cannot  enter  the  council 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         149 

chambers  nor  make  speeches  in  the  parHaments,  but 
they  work  their  wiles  at  the  parties  and  operas." 

"On  the  train,  Monday.  — This  train  is  travelling 
at  a  much  slower  pace  than  any  of  those  before. 
I  asked  why,  and  was  told  that  the  Government 
would  not  run  any  risks  when  so  many  big  foreign 
officials  were  aboard. 

"  Soldiers  are  everywhere  along  the  line,  and  when- 
ever the  train  stops  the  common  people  are  kept  at 
a  distance. 

"It  is  bad  enough  to  be  an  official  in  China,  and 
put  up  with  lies,  abuse,  and  misrepresentation;  but 
here  in  Russia  they  kill  their  big  officials  whenever 
they  can.  I  am  told  that  a  great  secret  band  exists 
all  over  the  empire,  and  that  the  members  thereof 
find  their  chief  occupation  and  'amusement*  in  the 
killing  of  men  of  state  and  others  in  high  position. 

"  I  do  not  think  I  should  like  to  exchange  positions 
with  the  Czar,  even  to  have  the  fine  Czarina  as  wife 
and  my  choice  of  the  rarest  tea !  Especially  in  these 
later  years  I  have  had  no  fear  of  my  life  being  taken, 
unless  it  would  be  by  some  crazy  fanatic  like  the 
fellow  who  shot  me  in  the  eye  at  Shimonoseki.  Sev- 
eral times  in  Hankow,  in  the  days  of  my  first  vice- 
royalty,  low  fellows  sought  to  take  my  life,  and  once 
in  Tientsin  [when  Li  was  Viceroy  of  Chihli]  a  low 
fellow  came  into  my  courtyard  and  told  the  banner 
captain  in  charge  that  he  intended  taking  my  life. 
He  had  a  long  piece  of  wire,  and  said  he  was  going 


150       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

to  hang  me  to  my  own  gateposts.   I  had  to  have  his 
head  cut  off  before  he  would  stop  talking." 

^^  N earing  the  German  frontier .  Hour  of  the  Sheep. 
P'lo  has  just  finished  shaving  my  head,  and  I  feel 
fine.  I  think  I  should  be  insane  if  I  wore  all  the  hair 
some  of  these  Russians  do.  Many  of  my  people  have 
chaffed  me  about  my  beard,  but  I  wish  they  could  see 
the  hairy  faces  of  the  St.  Petersburg  Court.  They 
are  'hairy  devils'  in  truth! 

"My  mother  said  that  as  a  little  baby  I  had 
evidences  of  a  strong  beard  later  in  life.  She  averred 
that  it  was  a  sign  that  I  should  be  a  great  man  in  my 
country,  and  many  times  since  affairs  have  gone  so 
well  with  me  has  she  asked :  '  Was  not  my  prophecy 
correct?'  Always  I  have  been  compelled  to  answer 
her  that  I  did  not  know,  but  if  she  thought  I  was  a 
great  man  I  was. 

"So  Napoleon  marched  all  this  distance  from 
France  in  the  midst  of  winter!  He  was  either  a  very 
brave  and  determined  man  or  a  very  foolish  one,  for 
even  now,  with  the  best  of  accommodations  and 
soldiers  to  guard  us  instead  of  fight  us,  it  is  a  long 
and  tiresome  journey.  Some  of  the  country  is  very 
beautiful,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  miles  that  are 
dreary  wastes,  and  fit  only  for  sheep  and  goats  and 
even  wild  wolves.  There  are  always  wolves  where 
there  are  sheep.  It  is  the  same  in  the  life  of  man  and 
the  lives  of  nations. 

"  I  do  not  want  to  be  thought  of  as  a  wolf  by  my 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         151 

fellow-men.  But  I  have  been  called  worse  names, 
even  to  'foreign  devil,'  which  is  ridiculous!  Gordon 
said  once  that  he  knew  it  was  my  ambition  to  over- 
throw the  Monarchy  and  make  myself  Emperor  of 
the  whole  Middle  Kingdom.  This  thought  comes  to 
me  now  when  I  am  in  the  country  Napoleon  wanted 
to  rule.  Gordon  was  a  good  friend  in  time  of  need, 
but  I  was  a  still  greater  friend  to  him,  and  he  could 
have  done  nothing  but  for  my  money  and  influence 
in  keeping  the  '  Ever  Victorious  Army '  together.  I 
had  no  ambition  ever  to  go  as  Emperor  to  the 
Northern  Capital  [Peking]. 

"The  train  is  bustling  with  life  and  excitement 
now,  for  we  are  coming  to  the  frontier.  There  are 
many  soldiers,  and  the  people  afar  off  are  looking  at 
the  train.  We  shall  meet  the  Germans  soon,  as  I  can 
tell  from  the  booming  of  the  cannon  and  the  music 
of  bands. 

"  I  wish  the  band  music  would  stop,  and  not  blare 
in  my  ears  so  near  by.  I  wonder  if  I  shall  meet  Herr 
Krupp?" 

Writing  in  his  diary  a  few  days  later,  while  the 
guest  of  the  German  Government,  Li  Hung  Chang 
refers  at  considerable  length  once  more  to  General 
"Chinese"  Gordon,  the  English  Commander  of  the 
"Ever  Victorious  Army,"  which  Chang  employed 
so  successfully  in  putting  down  the  Taiping  Rebellion 
in  1863. 

"The  English  will  want  to  know  just  what  caused 


152       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

the  trouble  between  General  Gordon  and  myself, 
and  I  shall  have  to  tell  them  that  I  was  not  at  all 
jealous  of  him,  as  has  been  charged  so  many  times. 
Why  should  I  be?  He  was  directly  under  my  orders, 
and  nothing  pleased  me  better  than  to  see  him  win 
so  many  battles  with  the  'Ever  Victorious  Army,' 
and  drive  the  Wangs  [leaders  of  the  Taipings]  into 
Suchau.  Gordon  was  not  over-anxious  for  the  end 
of  the  rebellion,  and  I  knew  that  he  had  secretly 
memorialised  the  Throne  to  make  him  general-in- 
chief  of  all  the  armies  of  China,  including  those  of  the 
different  viceroys.  He  did  not  know  that  no  person 
had  power  to  grant  him  such  unlimited  authority, 
and  his  foreign  pride  made  him  think  he  was  above 
myself  in  power.  He  made  mistakes,  and  many 
of  them;  but  I  overlooked  them  all,  thinking  only 
of  the  great  good  he  had  rendered  the  country. 

"His  final  mistake,  however,  I  could  not  overlook, 
and  my  memorial  to  the  Throne  was  the  cause  of 
his  dismissal  forever  from  the  service  of  China. 

"This  grievous  mistake  of  his  was  the  accusation 
that  I  had  treacherously  caused  the  murder  of  the 
Wangs  upon  my  own  barge.  The  very  truth  of  this 
matter  is  here  written  for  the  second  time;  the  first 
time  was  in  my  report  to  the  Grand  Council  at  the 
Northern  Capital,  made  in  the  year  1866,  just  before 
I  myself  took  the  field  against  the  Shantung  rebels. 

"  Mow  Wang  told  the  other  Wangs  at  Suchau  that 
he  would  not  surrender  to  the  Imperial  forces  but 
would  continue  fighting  for  ten  years.   He  was  killed 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         153 

upon  this  statement,  and  Chung  Wang  sent  word  to 
me  that  he  intended  to  surrender.  I  immediately 
informed  my  own  Heutenant,  General  Ching;  and 
Chung  Wang  and  eight  other  generals,  with  their 
men,  surrendered.  We  were  most  friendly  disposed 
when  the  fighting  was  all  over,  and  it  was  myself  who 
proposed  that  we  have  a  feast  in  celebration.  To  this 
Chung  Wang,  Lar  Wang,  and  General  Ching  quickly 
assented;  and  soon  the  banquet  was  set  on  board 
my  private  boat. 

"In  the  meantime,  General  Gordon,  who  thought 
he  had  not  been  accorded  full  glory  for  the  complete 
surrender  of  the  Taipings,  moved  the  '  Ever  Victori- 
ous Army '  away  from  Suchau  to  its  old  headquarters 
at  Quinsan.  This  was  against  my  orders,  and  also 
against  the  counsel  of  General  Chang;  but  Gordon 
claimed  there  was  a  large  amount  of  pay  due  him 
and  his  men.  This  was  true,  but  it  was  also  true  that 
he  had  not  been  promised,  and  should  not  have 
expected,  pay  until  the  Suchau  army  had  surren- 
dered. He  was  feeling  ill-disposed,  and  was  waiting 
for  replies  to  his  memorials  sent  to  the  Throne. 
His  last  memorial,  as  I  knew  through  See  Lund 
H'en,  who  wrote  it,  was  very  much  against  me. 

"When  the  banquet  was  set  and  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  our  joyousness,  report  was  brought  me  that 
two  large  boats  had  pulled  out  from  the  shore  and 
were  coming  directly  to  my  boat.  I  went  to  the  near 
side  and  looked.  It  was  about  the  hour  of  the  cock 
[7   P.M.],  and  I  could   not  discern   plainly,  but  it 


154       MEMOIRS   OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

seemed  to  me  as  if  Gordon  himself  captained  one  of 
the  boats.  I  went  back  to  the  feast  and  told  the 
Wangs  I  believed  Gordon  was  coming.  Ching  turned 
very  white  and  whispered  to  me  that  he  was  afraid 
—  of  what,  he  did  not  say;  but  before  we,  Ching, 
Lar  Wang,  and  myself,  had  time  to  reach  that  end 
of  the  boat  which  was  pointed  to  the  shore,  Imperial 
officers  and  soldiers  clambered  aboard  from  both 
sides  and  began  cutting  every  one  they  met.  They 
killed  Lar  Wang  by  my  side,  and  one  fellow  stabbed 
General  Ching,  but  only  slightly.  An  officer  was 
coming  toward  me  with  his  sword,  but  he  fell  to  his 
knees  when  I  raised  my  hand. 

"Ching,  Lu'Klen,  Tu-Kiang,  General  Tung,  and 
myself  all  succeeded  in  getting  into  one  of  the  soldier 
boats  and  the  pole-man  pushed  us  to  the  shore. 
Immediately  I  issued  orders  to  all  the  troops  in  the 
city  to  make  an  attempt  to  capture  those  of  the 
attacking  party ;  but  the  feeling  against  the  Wangs 
was  so  strong  that  I  think  but  little  attempt  was 
made  to  carry  out  my  orders.  That  night  I  learned 
that  all  the  members  of  the  banqueting  party  remain- 
ing aboard  were  decapitated  and  their  bodies  thrown 
into  the  river.  Among  these  were  a  deep  personal 
friend  whom  I  loved  very  much,  and  a  young 
nephew  of  mine  from  Wu-Sang. 

"I  will  have  Fong  Lee  [his  English  secretary] 
make  a  translation  of  this,  and  a  number  of  copies; 
and  if  I  am  asked  anything  about  this  in  England 
this  true  statement  will  be  the  answer." 


AT  THE  CZAR'S  CORONATION         155 

Evidently  the  Viceroy  was  not  questioned  regard- 
ing the  Wang  massacre  by  his  EngHsh  entertainers, 
for  this  line  appears  among  his  notes  made  two  weeks 
later  on  board  the  Atlantic  liner:  — 

"Only  Gladstone  mentioned  Gordon  to  me  in 
England.   I  guess  most  people  have  forgotten  him." 


CHAPTER  X 

MEN   AND   THINGS   IN   GERMANY 

During  the  first  five  days  of  his  stay  in  Germany 
the  Viceroy  did  not  write  a  line  in  his  diary,  though 
he  does  not  fail  to  cover  his  experiences  there  pretty 
thoroughly  when  he  again  "takes  pen  in  hand"; 
or  rather,  quill,  for  he  was  most  proficient  in  the  use 
of  the  latter,  seldom,  if  ever,  in  his  official  or  more 
important  writings,  using  the  stick  or  camel's-hair 
brush  so  commonly  employed  by  his  countrymen. 

He  writes  at  Essen:  "While  I  am  officially  the 
guest  of  the  German  nation,  I  am  personally  the 
guest  of  Herr  Krupp,  whom  I  have  for  many  years 
longed  to  see.  I  do  not  know  which  I  had  the  greater 
desire  to  see,  Prince  Bismarck  or  Herr  Krupp;  but 
however  that  may  be,  I  have  seen  them  both,  talked 
with  them  freely,  and  feel  that,  had  no  other  attrac- 
tion or  benefit  been  awaiting  me  in  Germany,  I 
have  been  well  repaid.  Each  of  these  men  seems 
to  be  filling  the  place  he  is  best  fitted  to  occupy: 
Krupp,  in  his  quiet  way,  making  big  guns,  and  Bis- 
marck occupying  a  place  where  he  can  put  them  into 
use.  For,  while  it  is  known  that  the  Kaiser  is  the 
head  and  front  of  Germany,  yet  it  is  Bismarck  who 
is  the  solid  rock  upon  which  any  great  trouble  must 
fall. 

"I  had  a  splendid  visit  with  Prince  Bismarck  at 


MEN  AND  THINGS   IN  GERMANY     157 

his  castle,  day  before  yesterday.  He  made  me  drink 
some  beer,  which  I  did  not  like  at  all,  but  a  taste  for 
which  he  said  I  should  acquire  if  I  stayed  long  enough 
in  Germany.  I  told  him  I  did  not  expect  to  live 
many  years  longer,  and  that  it  would  probably  be 
impossible  for  me  to  acquire  a  liking  for  the  national 
beverage. 

"We  smoked  our  pipes  together  and  enjoyed  a 
long  visit,  troubled  only  by  those  who  translated 
for  us  and  by  the  servants  who  brought  pipes  and 
drinkables.  During  a  large  part  of  the  time  we  dis- 
cussed international  policies,  and  finally  came  to  the 
prospective  influence  of  Germany  in  the  Far  East. 

"'You  have  seen  but  little  of  us  in  your  part  of 
the  world,'  he  said,  'for  Germany  as  a  unit  is  only 
a  new  nation ;  but  the  time  will  come  when  the  Ger- 
man Empire  will  dominate  Europe.  England,  with 
all  her  bluster  and  show,  has  a  hundred  weak  points; 
and  she  knows  that  a  conflict  with  a  power  nearly 
her  equal  will  mean  her  undoing.  I  hate  the  boast- 
ing Englanders  even  though  German  blood  rules 
from  the  throne.* 

"When,  toward  the  end  of  our  meeting,  in  fact  as 
we  were  about  to  part,  I  told  him  that  some  people 
had  paid  me  the  high  compliment  of  calling  me  the 
'Bismarck  of  the  Far  East,*  the  Prince  tried  to  look 
serious  as  if  studying  my  meaning.  Then  he  smiled 
under  his  bushy  eyebrows  and  whispered  to  Captain 
Ruffbach  (who  spoke  the  best  Mandarin  Chinese  I 
ever  heard  a  German  use).   ' Tell  His  Excellency  that 


158        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

the  French  would  not  consider  that  a  compliment  at 
all!'  Of  course  I  understood,  and  we  shook  hands 
over  the  agreement  that  the  French  did  not  love 
Bismarck. 

"I  found  that  the  Prince  could  deliver  a  compli- 
ment as  quickly  as  any  one,  for  he  immediately  said 
after  our  handshake,  'And  so  they  have  called  Your 
Excellency  the  Bismarck  of  the  East,  eh?  Well,  I 
want  to  tell  you  that  I  cannot  ever  hope  to  be  termed 
the  "Li  Hung  Chang  of  Europe!'" 

"As  I  was  coming  to  Essen  from  Berlin,  we  natu- 
rally spoke  a  good  deal  regarding  Herr  Krupp, 
who  Bismarck  said  was  an  emperor  in  his  own 
way,  the  'Emperor  of  Essen.'  'Germany  is  not  for 
war,'  he  said,  'but  strong  armament  is  as  necessary 
to  a  nation  as  a  club  is  to  a  policeman.  The  police- 
man does  not  carry  his  stick  to  use  upon  the  heads  of 
innocent  people,  but  he  has  it  in  plain  sight  so  that 
evilly  inclined  persons  may  know  that  he  is  always 
prepared  for  trouble.  Let  the  policeman  walk  his 
beat  carrying  a  feather  or  a  wisp  of  hay  and  see  how 
quickly  the  bullies  will  jump  upon  him  and  rob  him 
of  the  little  he  possesses. 

" '  And  so  with  Essen.  Herr  Krupp  has  established 
a  great  industrial  plant  there  and  provided  bread 
and  beer  for  thousands.  Even  if  not  one  of  his  guns 
was  ever  fired  he  would  still  be  a  great  benefactor  of 
his  country.  But  as  it  is,  he  is  still  greater  from  the 
German  point  of  view.  He  has  won  many  victories 
for  his  country,   victories   that   the   public   know 


MEN  AND  THINGS   IN  GERMANY     159 

nothing  about.  The  noise  of  Essen  to-day  is  the 
song  of  peace;  to-morrow  it  may  be  the  voice  of  a 
united  Germany  speaking  through  a  thousand  Essen 
mouths  to  an  enemy.' 

"Captain  Ruff  bach  accompanied  me  here  by  the 
request  of  Bismarck,  and  I  am  glad  he  did,  for  he 
seems  to  know  about  everything,  and  is  able  to  tell 
what  he  knows.  The  captain  was  for  many  years 
employed  at  Peking  and  Canton  in  consular  capaci- 
ties, and  writes  well  in  Chinese.  I  think  I  shall  ask 
the  Kaiser  to  send  him  back  with  me. 

"Herr  Krupp  presented  me  with  a  fine  steel- 
framed  painting  of  himself  yesterday.  I  asked  for 
it  because  of  my  great  admiration  for  him.  He  said 
that  Miiller  had  painted  the  picture  for  his  wife 
(Madame  Krupp) ,  but  that  she  was  delighted  to  let 
me  have  it.  Herr  Krupp  also  made  me  a  present  of 
a  complete  miniature  battery  of  artillery,  of  a  good 
size  for  children  to  play  with.  In  fact,  he  had  them 
drawn  into  my  room  by  six  little  school-girls  all 
dressed  in  yellow  and  hauling  the  little  cannons  by 
yellow  silk  ribbons.  One  of  the  little  girls  thought 
it  was  real  war,  I  imagine,  for  she  was  very  much 
frightened  and  after  a  while  began  to  cry.  And  she 
was  the  one  that  'drove'  the  others,  too;  and  prob- 
ably was  captain  of  the  battery.  I  could  not  help 
thinking  that  that  was  often  the  way,  for  I  remem- 
ber that  once  while  fighting  the  Tongs  in  Senchi  we 
had  officers  that  were  mere  cowards,  while  the  com- 
mon men  would  fight  bravely. 


i6o       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"Herr  and  Madame  Krupp,  General  Vonzberg, 
Count  and  Countess  Gregg  and  others  were  present 
when  the  gift  of  the  battery  of  artillery  was  made  and 
accepted.  I  spoke  in  reply  to  Herr  Krupp's  brief 
speech  and  Captain  Ruffbach  translated  it  excel- 
lently. But  he  overlooked  my  last  sentence,  and  I 
called  his  attention  to  it.  He  grew  very  red  in  the 
face  and  it  was  evident  that  he  was  somewhat 
embarrassed,  but  I  only  repeated  my  statement,  and 
he  in  turn  gave  it  to  the  little  company.  Poor  fellow, 
he  thought  it  was  going  to  offend  the  party! 

"But  as  soon  as  Ruffbach's  words  were  out  of  his 
mouth,  the  whole  company  burst  into  laughter,  and 
Herr  Krupp  actually  slapped  me  upon  the  shoulder 
and  acted  like  a  merry  brother. 

"'You  shall  have  one;  yes,  a  real  battery!'  he  said 
a  couple  of  times.  You  see  I  had  told  him  that  while 
I  appreciated  highly  his  compliment  to  myself  as 
the  representative  of  the  Chinese  Throne  and  people, 
I  believed  his  great  gun-works  would  be  made  bet- 
ter known  in  Eastern  Asia  by  a  battery  of  big  guns ! 

"And  so  this  morning  at  the  works  six  finely 
polished  guns  were  paraded  before  me  as  the  present 
of  Herr  Krupp  to  the  Chinese  Empire,  a  gift  worth 
more  than  108,000  taels!  But  I  do  not  think  he  will 
lose  by  his  generosity,  for  Lord  Clung  has  instructed 
two  of  the  German  engineers  here  to  select  three 
other  batteries  of  field-pieces  and  four  ten-inch  guns 
to  be  shipped  at  an  early  date  to  China.  We  shall 
buy  German  powder  and  shells  here  also." 


MEN   AND   THINGS   IN   GERMANY     i6i 

"  Next  day.  Hour  of  the  Drake.  —  This  day  I  shall 
seclude  myself  from  all  callers,  in  order  that  I  may 
devote  myself  to  thoughts  of  my  celestial  mother, 
who  died  fourteen  years  ago  this  day,  and  who  for 
that  long  time  has  been  thinking  of  my  coming  to 
the  Peaceful  Sunlight  of  the  Nine  Springs.  With  all 
the  incidents  of  my  life,  its  trials  and  lamentations, 
its  moments  of  joy  and  pride,  with  each  and  every 
affair  of  life,  I  cannot  forget  my  celestial  mother  and 
all  she  was  and  is  to  me. 

"My  father  died  many  years  before  my  mother, 
and  his  grave  is  great  and  hallowed.  Many  hundreds 
of  times  did  my  mother  bless  it  and  ask  my  father's 
spirit  to  hurry  the  time  when  her  own  might  join 
his  in  the  Happy  Vale  of  Ancestral  Longevity.  My 
mother  could  never  think  of  taking  her  own  life. 
It  is  thought  great  and  glorious  to  do  such  a  thing 
by  many  of  the  ignorant,  —  and  many  of  the  intel- 
lectual, too,  —  but  my  father's  beloved  helpmeet 
could  never  think  it  was  right,  nor  that  it  pleased 
the  spirits  of  the  gone-before. 

"  In  my  early  days  I  was  possessed  of  many  ideas 
that  I  know  now  were  foolish  and  wicked,  and  not 
at  all  in  agreement  with  common  sense  or  philoso- 
phy; one  of  these  is  suicide,  and  another  is  the  put- 
ting out  of  the  way  of  infants.  If  a  man  or  woman 
has  lost  his  or  her  face  [i.e.,  is  disgraced]  so  badly 
that  it  is  impossible  to  retrieve  it,  then  perhaps  it  is 
better  to  be  buried  deep  in  the  earth  than  to  live 
and  see  shame  all  the  rest  of  one's  days.    Or,  if  a 


i62        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

government  official,  with  many  honours  bestowed 
upon  him,  is  caught  steahng  the  money  that  belongs 
to  the  Throne,  and  cannot  pay  back  all  that  he  has 
taken,  even  to  the  last  cash,  it  is  better  that  he  take 
poison.  For  by  doing  so  he  will  be  thought  better 
of  by  his  family  and  friends  and  by  the  Government. 
But  if  he  will  persist  in  living,  even  when  the  law  of 
his  punishments  do  not  reach  him,  he  is  each  day 
a  greater  disgrace  than  he  was  the  day  before ;  and 
upon  his  family  the  burden  is  heavier  as  each  hour 
passes. 

"Or,  if  a  great  official,  when  he  finds  that  his 
country  is  humiliated  through  him,  even  though 
personally  he  be  not  at  fault,  it  is  a  true  sign  of  great 
love  of  country  if  he  put  an  end  to  his  life.  For  what 
happiness  can  a  man  have  when  he  knows  that  that 
name  which  he  so  proudly  bore  is  the  name  to  be 
forever  linked  with  some  defeat  or  degradation  of 
his  country's  ? 

"I  can  bless  the  name  of  my  great  and  noble 
friend  Admiral  Ting,  and  I  can  bow  before  the  grave 
of  the  illustrious  General  Chang!  And  I  can  burn 
incense  to  the  spirit  of  the  gallant  Commodore  Liu! 
[Officers  who  committed  suicide  after  the  capture 
of  Wei-hai-wei  by  the  Japanese,  in  January,  1895.] 
Yes,  they  are  honoured  by  all  the  world  even  in 
defeat,  and  their  spirits  are  sweetest  and  happiest 
among  those  of  our  noble  ancestors!  Yes,  even  the 
Japanese,  in  their  hour  of  material  victory  over  our 
brave  men  on  land  and  sea,  did  not  refrain  from 


MEN  AND  THINGS   IN  GERMANY     163 

doing  great  honour  to  these  glory-laden  officers  of 
our  army  and  navy.  [The  writer  here  refers  to  the 
honour  paid  the  suicide  officers  by  Admiral  Ito,  the 
Japanese  commander,  who  restored  one  of  the  cap- 
tured Chinese  vessels  to  be  a  ship  of  honour  for  the 
conveying  home  of  their  bodies.] 

"I  did  not  ever  care  much  for  the  Japanese,  and 
a  deadly  hatred  was  in  my  heart  against  that 
nation  when  it  forced  China  into  war  over  Korea, 
which  for  two  thousand  years  had  been  ours;  but 
I  loved  Marquis  Ito  for  this  noble  action,  and  I 
was  ready  to  treat  with  him  in  the  arrangement  of 
peace. 

"Such  causes  for  self-destruction  are  sufficient, 
but  many  people  take  their  lives  for  less  reason  than 
would  be  necessary  to  send  a  vagrant  to  jail  for  two 
days.  They  are  silly  people;  they  act  only  from  silly 
and  selfish  motives;  they  have  much  pride  and  self- 
love,  and  they  want  others  to  think  they  are  brave. 
Many  widows  cut  their  throats  or  bind  twine  tightly 
about  their  necks  or  their  bowels,  or  swallow  large 
doses  of  poisonous  herbs,  in  an  attempt  to  show 
what  affection  they  have  for  their  departed  husbands. 
What  a  silly  thing !  especially  if  that  were  the  reason ; 
but  the  truth  is  that  the  widow  has  become  lazy,  or 
she  fears  no  other  man  will  want  to  work  for  her  sup- 
port. In  this  she  does  not  deceive  herself,  neither 
does  she  fool  the  many  thousands  who  are  glad  to 
come  and  witness  her  death.  Let  the  widow  marry 
again  and  rear  up  more  spirits  to  honour  the  spirits 


i64       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

of  those  gone  before.  Of  course,  if  she  is  too  lazy  to 
do  this,  suicide  is  good  enough  for  her. 

"When  I  was  a  very  young  boy  in  Anhuei  I  was 
accused  of  something  wrong,  and  some  of  my  youth- 
ful friends  told  me  that  I  could  only  save  my  face 
and  the  face  of  my  family  by  jumping  into  a  well.  I 
was  guilty  of  the  wrong  —  the  taking  of  two  ducks 
from  a  pond,  which  I  cooked  and  ate  —  and  I  was 
very  sorry,  even  without  the  severe  punishment 
administered  to  me  by  my  father  and  mother  as  well 
as  by  the  owner  of  the  fowl.  But  I  did  not  want  to 
die,  although  I  had  disgraced  my  people  and  myself. 
I  went  to  my  mother  to  ask  her  if  I  should  jump  into 
the  well.  She  said.  No;  that  it  would  not  be  right; 
but  that  the  better  thing  for  me  to  do  would  be  to 
earn  enough  in  the  next  harvest  time  to  pay  for  the 
ducks  and  to  give  an  extra  duck  and  seven  eggs 
besides.  This  advice  I  followed,  paying  my  debts 
and  more  —  for  I  gave  a  fine  rabbit  to  the  magis- 
trate, and  ever  after  that  he  was  my  friend. 

"My  life's  greatest  grief  was  the  death  of  my 
mother,  and  I  desired  a  year  of  mourning;  but  the 
Throne  had  negotiated  with  Russia  as  to  the  status 
of  Korea,  and  I  was  compelled  to  be  in  constant 
communication  with  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen. 

"A  letter  from  Von  Moltke  has  just  been  handed 
me  by  Song.  I  shall  read  it  to-morrow.  To-night  I 
must  read  long  into  the  hours  from  the  philosophers 
in  memory  of  my  mother. 

"The  little  battery  of  artillery,  all  its  mouths 


MEN  AND  THINGS   IN  GERMANY     165 

pointing  east-north  [northeast],  seems  to  say  that  if 
we  ever  fight  the  Japanese  again  we  shall  be  better 
prepared.  The  toy  guns  please  that  part  of  my  na- 
ture which  is  of  the  boy.  But  the  business  battery 
present  is  a  joy  indeed! 

"I  now  (8  P.M.)  take  up  the  Mang-tsze  for  a  five 
hours'  reading." 

*' Morning. — The  letter  from  Von  Moltke  is 
simply  one  expressing  his  desire  to  meet  me  when  I 
arrive  at  Potsdam.  He  was  to  have  been  at  Scheven- 
ingen.    (I  can  scarcely  write  that  horrible  name.) 

"But  I  shall  never  forget  the  wonderful  display  of 
sky-fire  [fireworks]  the  people  of  that  place  prepared 
for  me.  We  have  many  kinds  of  coloured  sky-fires 
in  China,  and  they  are  truly  wonderful,  but  what  I 
saw  at  S.  [a  mark  in  the  diary]  was  as  if  all  the  spirits 
of  the  air  had  combined  to  make  a  home  show  for 
me  in  Europe.  There  were  real  battles  of  men  and 
ships.  I  know,  because  I  have  seen  them.  And  there 
were  great  representations  of  the  Golden  Dragon,  a 
picture  of  the  Empress  Grand  Dowager  [Tze  Hsi]  and 
of  the  Emperor.  At  last  they  had,  with  the  booming 
of  cannons  and  the  blare  of  many  military  bands, 
a  picture  of  His  Excellency  Li  Hung  Chang,  in  his 
yellow  jacket!  And,  without  knowing,  of  course, 
what  kind  of  a  show  I  was  to  witness  —  although 
I  had  been  informed  in  advance  that  it  was  in  my 
honour  —  I  had  donned  my  yellow  jacket  early  that 
evening,  and  was  attired  in  it  when  the  Army  Com- 


i66       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

mittee,  headed  by  General  Von  Getner  (?)  and  the 
city  committee,  headed  by  Burgomeister  Sanders 
called  —  " 

In  a  marginal  note,  written  some  time  later,  the 
Viceroy  explains  that  he  was  interrupted  in  his 
description  of  the  "feast  of  S."  by  the  arrival  of  one 
of  his  party  with  a  number  of  important  cablegrams, 
one  of  them  being  from  President  Cleveland  inviting 
him  to  America  in  the  name  of  the  American  people. 
This  message  also  enquired  on  behalf  of  the  State 
Department  the  probable  time  of  the  Viceroy's 
arrival  in  the  United  States. 

'^  Bremerhaven  {three  or  four  days  after  leaving 
Potsdam).  —  From  all  that  I  have  seen,  I  am  more 
than  ever  convinced  that  the  Kaiser  and  Prince 
Bismarck  meant  what  they  said  when  they  averred 
that  the  German  Empire  was  destined  to  become  a 
dominant  factor  in  Europe.  I  am  wonderfully  im- 
pressed with  the  way  this  nation  seems  to  be  work- 
ing as  a  unit.  The  army  is  upon  a  business  basis,  the 
navy  is  on  a  business  basis,  and  the  whole  machinery 
of  government  works  smoother  than  our  best  Canton 
timepieces. 

"I  arrived  here  this  morning,  accompanied  by  a 
host  of  high  officials,  and  others  met  our  party  here. 
The  whole  place  is  in  gala  attire,  and  I  have  all  I  can 
do  to  make  myself  believe  that  I  am  only  a  foreigner 
visiting  the  country,  instead  of  a  king  in  this  land. 


MEN  AND  THINGS  IN  GERMANY     167 

I  am  told  that  hundreds  and  thousands  of  foreigners 
are  here  to-day,  and  a  great  number  have  been  intro- 
duced to  me,  some  EngHsh,  some  French,  and  some 
Americans  —  the  latter  said  to  be  so  rich  that  they 
could  buy  the  fleet  of  magnificent  warships  lying  in 
this  fine  harbour. 

"  It  is  a  long  time  since  I  was  engaged  in  any  fight- 
ing, hand  to  hand,  and  I  am  now  getting  too  aged  to 
think  of  engaging  in  it ;  nevertheless,  my  eyes  never 
tire  of  regiments  of  soldiers  and  great  warships  that 
can  do  things. 

"In  answer  to  my  questions  I  have  learned  the 
approximate  cost  of  most  of  the  German  ships. 
There  are  great  shipyards  here,  and  Germany  in- 
tends to  build  all  her  navy  for  all  time  at  home.  I 
could  wish  for  nothing  better  than  that  China 
should  build  her  own  fleet  and  have  every  man  and 
officer  in  it  a  true  son  of  the  Middle  Kingdom;  but 
our  people  are  not  sailors,  except  upon  the  rivers, 
and  they  do  not  know  how  to  handle  machinery. 
But  they  will  learn  in  time,  I  hope.  Anyway,  when 
I  return,  I  shall  make  it  my  duty  to  urge  advance- 
ment in  all  Western  arts  and  crafts.  We  have  our 
beautiful  literature,  far  and  away  ahead  of  that  of 
the  Western  nations ;  but  they  have  the  money  and 
the  guns. 

"It  was  a  sad  thought  for  me  to-day,  as  I  saw 
those  fine  ships  lying  idle  there,  that  they  were  doing 
no  particular  good,  while,  if  they  had  been  ours,  we 
should  have  conquered  the  Japanese! 


i68       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

"Some  of  the  officials  hinted  that  I  ought  to  leave 
an  order  at  Bremerhaven  for  one  or  two  ships,  and 
I  said  to  one  of  the  admirals  standing  by:  *If  you 
will  sell  me  that  ship  over  there  for  2,300,000  taels  I 
will  go  in  her  to  France  and  England  and  America.' 
But  he  said  that  my  naval  knowledge  was  too  good; 
I  had  picked  out  his  flagship,  the  strongest  battle- 
ship of  the  German  navy." 

"  Two  days  later.  —  We  are  in  France,  and  some- 
how I  am  feeling  more  at  home.  My  stomach  is  in 
bad  shape,  for  I  have  been  tempted  to  eat  too  much 
of  German  foods.  Maybe  it  is  the  wines  that  trouble 
me,  for  I  have  been  taking  much  of  their  white 
wines,  and  like  them  so  well  that  Count  Hatzfeldt 
said  he  would  ship  many  casks  to  Tientsin  for  me. 

"Seventy- five  thousand  Frenchmen  surrendered 
to  the  Germans  just  where  we  crossed  into  France." 


CHAPTER  XI 

IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND 

"La  Belle  France,  they  call  this  country,"  Viceroy 
Li  wrote  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day  in  Paris; 
"the  beautiful  France,  I  am  told  it  means,  and  I  am 
ready  to  agree  with  the  sentiment.  Indeed,  from 
my  observations,  I  will  go  still  further,  and  call  it 
Happy  and  Beautiful  and  Gracious  France,  for  in 
all  my  travels  no  hours  have  been  so  pleasing  to  me 
as  those  which  I  have  spent  in  this  delightful  land. 

"Perhaps  there  is  a  sense  of  patriotism  in  this 
thought,  for  I  must  confess  that  much  of  the  country 
between  Metz  and  Paris  is  considerably  like  that  of 
Kuang-Tung  and  Kuang-Su  provinces.  Of  course, 
there  is  a  vast  difference  in  the  houses  and  fences, 
and  the  people  are  not  at  all  alike ;  but  the  panorama 
from  the  train  for  miles  and  miles  was  of  the  more 
lovely  portions  of  central  and  south  China.  The 
trees  and  vegetables  and  grasses  seem  to  have  the 
same  greens  and  other  colours,  and  if  the  houses  were 
changed  and  hidden  from  view,  and  if  a  few  of  my 
people  stood  along  the  railroad,  I  could  easily  think 
I  was  one  or  two  hundred  miles  from  Canton  instead 
of  being  that  distance  from  Paris. 

"And  this  is  the  very  country  through  which  the 
mighty  German  armies,  headed  by  the  King  of 
Prussia  and  the  master  strategist,  my  friend  Von 


170       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

Moltke,  and  directed  by  that  man  of  silent  thunder 
and  terrible  lightning,  Prince  Bismarck,  —  who 
offered  me  so  much  hofbrau  only  the  other  day,  — 
marched  to  the  subjugation  and  humiliation  of  the 
proud  country  of  Napoleon.  It  is  most  interesting 
to  think  about  these  things,  but  I  suppose  the  French 
people  would  rather  forget. 

"In  truth  I  believe  they  must  have  long  since  for- 
gotten, for  these  people  are  what  we  call  in  Chinese 
a  smiling  family.  They  are  so  different  from  the 
Russians  and  the  Germans  —  I  mean  the  masses. 
Russian  crowds  seem  to  have  no  enthusiasm.  There 
is  respect  and  awe  of  a  dull  kind  in  their  faces,  and 
a  sort  of  hopelessness  that  they  seem  to  be  afraid 
to  give  expression  to.  With  the  Germans  there  is 
enthusiasm,  but  it  is  of  a  hard,  matter-of-fact  kind 
—  the  life  of  business  or  science,  perhaps.  They 
laugh  a  great  deal,  sing  much,  and  talk  loud;  but 
somehow  I  was  given  the  impression  that  all  these 
three  came  from  their  beers  and  wines,  more  than 
from  the  heart  or  soul. 

"But  the  French,  as  I  have  said,  are  so  different. 
The  faces  of  the  crowds,  even  of  the  little  boys  and 
girls,  seem  to  be  those  of  a  people  who  are  living  a 
life  of  earnest  joy,  as  if  they  knew  there  was  much 
good  pleasure  in  life,  and  intended  to  get  it  out 
without  making  too  hard  a  job  of  it. 

"This  morning  I  paid  a  brief  visit  to  the  Bank  of 
France,  and  met  the  board  of  governors,  all  of  them 
introduced  by  M.  Leroux,  of  the  Ministry  of  Finance. 


IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  171 

I  was  interested  in  this  great  institution,  which  they 
tell  me  owns  financially  one  half  the  kings  and  princes 
of  Europe.  I  wonder  if  I  could  borrow  a  few  million 
francs?  As  a  bit  of  humour,  I  had  C'Lung  ask  that 
question  when  we  were  in  the  executive  rooms,  and 
the  chief  governor  immediately  replied :  '  Yes,  Your 
Excellency,  fifty  millions,  almost  on  your  own 
terms ! '  Then  I  told  him  that  I  was  not  serious  about 
it,  and  to  this  he  replied  that  when  China  was  serious 
about  loans  the  Bank  of  France  would  be  ready. 

"For  more  than  an  hour  I  enquired  into  the  sys- 
tem of  finance  in  vogue  in  France,  and  it  is,  I  believe, 
the  simplest  yet  most  perfect  in  the  world.  I  was 
astounded  when  M.  Leroux  told  me  that  if  every 
centime  were  taken  from  the  vaults  for  governmental 
purposes,  a  call  on  the  branch  banks  throughout 
France  for  1,000,000,000  taels  would  be  answered 
satisfactorily  within  forty-eight  hours.  I  wonder  if 
this  can  be  true? 

"I  learn  that  loan-ofifices  [pawn-shops]  are  almost 
unknown  in  France.  My  enquiries  regarding  them 
appeared  to  amuse  my  informants,  for  it  has  been 
published  widely  in  the  Parisian  papers  (and  I  pre- 
sume in  the  English  and  American  press,  too)  that 
my  own  wealth  is  largely  invested  in  the  pawn-shop 
business  of  China;  and  one  of  the  illustrated  French 
papers,  thinking  it  was  humorous,  pictured  me  yes- 
terday with  a  Jewish  nose  and  holding  in  one  hand 
the  Western  symbol  of  the  loan  ofhce.  Monsieur 
Chateauvere,  the  chief  of  the  French  secret  police 


172        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

detailed  to  guard  me  while  in  Paris,  asked  if  I  wanted 
legal  proceedings  against  the  publisher  to  be  taken, 
but  I  told  him  that  I  had  enjoyed  the  cartoon  as 
much,  probably,  as  any  one. 

"It  seems  that  in  the  Western  world  the  small 
moneylender,  or  perhaps,  better,  the  lender  of  small 
sums,  is  a  person  despised  by  the  general  public. 
That  is  because  they  squeeze  the  blood  of  those  who 
borrow.  That  is  why  the  'pawn-broker'  is  an  unde- 
sirable person  in  the  community. 

"However,  I  can  say  that  while  many  of  the 
statements  made  regarding  me  as  the  owner  of  most 
of  the  loan  offices  in  China  are  without  doubt  much 
exaggerated,  I  am  interested  largely  in  such  estab- 
lishments in  some  of  the  provinces.  Nor  am  I 
ashamed  of  such  interest.  On  the  contrary,  I  am 
glad  that  I  have  so  often  been  able  to  help  poor 
people  with  small  loans,  upon  either  their  goods, 
their  labour,  or  just  their  promises.  It  is  not  seemly 
that  I  write  of  my  own  virtues,  but  it  is  surely  the 
privilege  and  duty  of  every  man  to  defend  his  nam.e 
and  character  when  attacked.  Therefore,  I  will  say 
that  though  I  have  made  a  comfortable  amount  of 
wealth  from  my  loan-offices,  it  has  not  been  made  by 
excessive  interest  charges.  If  I  had  been  a  hard  man 
to  all  those  who  had  borrowed  from  my  agents  and 
were  unable  to  pay,  I  should  to-day  be  one  of  the 
richest  men  in  the  world.  And  then,  too,  I  have 
never  used  what  wealth  was  graciously  given  me  by 
the  good  gods  for  evil  purposes.    I  have  bought 


IN  FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND  173 

neither  honours  nor  offices.  I  would  cut  my  face 
with  a  knife  rather  than  accept  an  office  or  an  hon- 
our by  purchase. 

"It  is  true  that  I  have  loaned  large  sums  to  the 
provinces,  and  even  to  the  Throne,  but  it  is  also 
true  that  certain  honours  were  stripped  from  me 
when  the  Government  was  greatest  in  my  debt.  It  is  ,' 
also  true  that  for  many  years  I  have  contributed 
well  to  flood  or  drought  sufferers,  and  it  is  on  record 
at  the  Room  of  Worthy  Deeds  [Peking]  that  during  f 
the  last  direful  famine  I  supplied  food  to  one  thou- 
sand families  in  Tientsin,  to  four  thousand  families 
in  other  parts  of  Chihli,  and  to  five  hundred  families 
in  Shantung,  for  more  than  sixteen  weeks.  .  .  . 

"They  tell  me  there  is  very  little  poverty  in 
France,  and  that  even  the  poorest  people  save  a  little 
from  day  to  day." 

"  Tuesday  evening.  —  This  evening  I  was  received 
by  the  President  of  the  Republic  and  Madame  Faure. 
The  great  halls  of  the  President's  palace  were 
thronged  with  eminent  people  from  all  over  France 
and  Europe.  The  American  Minister  was  there,  and 
extended  personally  an  invitation  on  the  part  of 
President  Cleveland.  I  know,  from  all  I  have  heard, 
seen,  and  learned,  that  my  reception  in  America 
will  be  most  agreeable.  I  look  forward  to  it  anxiously, 
especially  to  seeing  New  York  and  Washington, 
and  visiting  with  Mr.  Cleveland. 

"The  French  President  is  a  quiet  man,  of  studi- 


174       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

ous,  careful  habits,  I  should  think.  He  had  learned 
somewhere  or  somehow  to  speak  one  or  two  phrases 
in  Chinese  and  these  he  repeated  at  least  eight  times 
during  our  first  meeting.  Madame  Faure  is  a  plain 
woman,  but,  I  hear,  of  very  kindly  heart.  She  had 
around  her  at  the  reception  a  number  of  the  most 
beautiful  ladies  I  had  ever  seen.  They  were  duchesses, 
princesses,  countesses,  and  the  daughters  of  plain 
politicians  or  merchants;  but  they  were  all  so  charm- 
ing that  the  title  of  Empress  would  not  be  too  great 
for  the  majority. 

'  *  What  strange  things  do  happen !  One  of  the  gen- 
tlemen standing  at  a  distance  seemed  familiar  to  me, 
and  I  found  after  a  while  that  he  was  almost  staring 
at  me,  as  if  to  attract  my  particular  attention  to 
him.  When  I  asked  Tuan  to  find  out  who  he  was,  the 
gentleman  himself  came  over  and  extended  his  hand 
in  European  fashion.  'Does  Your  Excellency  re- 
member me?'  he  asked  in  my  own  language.  The 
moment  he  spoke  I  remembered  him.  He  was  Cap- 
tain Fournier,  now  a  high  official,  who  was  the  repre- 
sentative of  France  at  the  Tientsin  Treaty.  I  was 
so  glad  to  see  him  again,  for  he  is  truly  a  chivalrous 
man  and  an  honour  to  his  country!  I  will  send  him 
a  chest  of  tea. 

^^  Midnight,  before  starting  for  Calais. — Tuan 
opened  and  read  to  me  a  long  letter  from  the  German 
Kaiser  a  little  while  ago.  It  came  through  the  German 
Embassy  here,  and  informs  me  that  my  request  for 


IN  FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND  175 

a  hundred  German  officers  to  instruct  our  army  has 
been  granted,  and  that  the  War  Office  at  Berlin  will 
at  once  make  the  selections.  China  will  pay  the 
same  salaries  that  they  would  receive  at  home  and 
their  expenses  in  addition.  I  hope  the  Throne  will 
not  think  I  am  extravagant.  Anyway,  the  money 
will  come  out  of  my  own  provincial  (Chihli)  funds. 
Now  we  shall  have  an  army!" 

The  next  day,  crossing  the  English  Channel, 
the  Viceroy  wrote :  — 

"  I  left  France  with  regret  and  am  going  to  Eng- 
land with  some  misgivings.  I  read  in  the  French 
press,  in  the  *  Matin '  only  to-day,  that  the  English 
were  making  fun  of  me  when  I  was  the  guest  of 
Germany.  That  is  not  right ;  for  when  they  make  fun 
of  me  it  is  not  simply  a  person  they  are  treating 
lightly  but  the  envoy  of  a  great  nation. 

"If  they  do  not  treat  me  well,  I  shall  make  my 
sojourn  very  brief,  for  I  would  not  linger  in  any 
house  wherein  I  was  not  welcome." 

"  10  o'clock.  Same  morning.  —  The  weather  is 
very  rough  just  now  and  some  of  my  party  are  quite 
sick,  but  I  have  remained  on  deck  so  that  I  might 
see  England  and  France  at  about  one  and  the  same 
time. 

"I  just  heard  something  which  sounds  like  a 
dream,  in  truth.  Some  wealthy  Frenchmen  and 
engineers,  backed  by  the  Government,  propose  to 


176       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

build  a  tunnel  under  these  very  waters  upon  which 
we  are  sailing.  But  I  also  hear  that  the  English, 
who  do  not  believe  it  is  only  a  dream,  will  not  let 
them  have  an  opening  on  their  soil.  Oh,  those 
English  —  they  're  afraid  of  everybody  and  every- 
thing! Yet  they  want  to  make  light  of  me. 

''We  are  in  rough  seas,  and  although  I  can  hear 
the  salutes  of  Dover  Castle,  I  am  going  to  my  bed 
for  a  few  minutes'  rest." 

That  the  Grand  Ambassador  had  a  touch  of  sea- 
sickness he  acknowledges  with  evident  reluctance 
in  the  last  paragraph  he  writes  in  England,  just 
before  taking  steamer  for  New  York :  — 

''Once  more  there  is  before  me  the  prospect  of 
some  seven  or  eight  days  of  quiet,  and  the  thought 
is  exceedingly  pleasing.  Yet  there  are  also  three 
thousand  miles  of  ocean  between  me  and  New  York, 
and  they  say  that  of  all  the  great  bodies  of  water  the 
Atlantic  is  the  worst  in  temper.  All  our  party  were 
seasick  on  the  miserable  little  run  across  the  English 
Channel  [the  narrow  sea  of  the  English  the  Viceroy 
calls  it],  with  the  exception  of  myself.  I  felt  very  ill 
at  my  inwards  when  we  were  about  midway  across, 
but  that  was  the  after  effects  of  German  food  and 
that  Potsdam  beer,  more  than  any  results  of  the 
ship's  motion.  Tuan,  C'Lung,  and  some  of  the  others 
chided  me  upon  my  so-called  seasickness,  but  if 
they  had  been  across  and  up  and  down  the  China 
Sea  as  many  times  as  I,  they  would  not  have  been 


IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  177 

sent  to  their  staterooms  by  the  nasty  Httle  Narrow- 
Sea  of  the  English." 

During  the  first  four  days  in  England,  so  com- 
pletely taken  up  was  Li  Hung  Chang's  time,  as  he 
himself  tells,  so  busy  was  he  "  with  small  things  and 
great,  small  people  and  famous,"  that  he  had  no 
time  for  his  memoirs. 

'*  Hawarden,  Eleventh  Day  in  Memory  of  the  Peace- 
ful Jade  Emperor.  —  Only  here,  in  the  home  of  the 
greatest  living  Englishman,  have  I  found  real  rest 
since  leaving  the  boat  at  Dover.  Here  I  have  enjoyed 
for  a  day  such  a  rest  as  I  have  not  known  since  bid- 
ding good-bye  to  China;  for  it  is  a  pleasurable  rest 
to  see  and  know  this  ' Grand  Old  Man.'  It  is  delight- 
ful to  learn  his  thoughts  and  to  see  things  of  this 
world  as  he  sees  them.  It  is  the  highest  prize  of 
public  service  to  be  able  to  retire  to  such  a  home  life 
as  is  his,  amid  the  respect  of  the  world  and  the  love 
and  admiration  of  his  countrymen.  If  I  could  be 
any  other  person  than  Li  Hung  Chang  I  should  want 
to  be  William  Ewart  Gladstone,  the  Grand  Old  Man 
of  England.  And  I  should  like  best  of  all  women, 
even  now  before  the  Czarina,  one  of  Fournier's 
lovely  daughters. 

"Mr.  Gladstone  met  me  at  the  handsome,  green- 
covered  station  upon  my  arrival.  A  great  crowd  of 
his  countrypeople  were  there,  and  hats  were  raised 
and  handkerchiefs  fluttered  while  our  party  de- 


178       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

scended  from  the  train.  Then  there  was  long  and 
hearty  applause  as  we  shook  hands,  both  of  us  bare- 
headed. I  do  not  know  when  before,  in  public,  I  have 
been  seen  without  a  head  covering. 

"Mr.  Gladstone  —  he  is  only  'mister,'  for  he  has 
refused  the  highest  titles  the  British  Queen  could 
bestow  —  was  much  stronger  in  appearance  than  I 
had  expected  to  find  him ;  yet,  when  we  were  close 
together  and  sat  face  to  face,  I  could  see  that  he 
was  an  old  man;  much  older  in  his  face  than  I, 
although  there  is  but  nine  years'  difference,  I  be- 
lieve, in  our  ages. 

"At  once  he  apologised  for  not  having  come  to 
London  to  meet  me.  But  he  said  that  if  he  had  made 
the  trip  he  would  very  likely  have  been  ill  for  a  week 
or  two.  He  had  sent  a  telegram  to  me  at  Windsor 
Castle  to  this  same  effect,  two  days  before,  and  so  I 
had  determined  to  visit  him  at  Hawarden;  even  at 
the  expense  of  offending  a  number  of  the  entertain- 
ment committee  and  several  members  of  the  House 
of  Lords  who  had  given  me  pressing  invitations  to 
visit  their  homes." 

The  Viceroy  on  a  later  date  gives  a  list  of  the 
different  personages  in  England  who  he  thought 
might  be  offended  because  he  had  chosen  to  go  "of 
his  own  will"  to  visit  Gladstone  at  Hawarden,  while 
neglecting  to  accept  the  many  other  urgent  invita- 
tions to  prominent  houses. 

"What  had  these  other  people  to  offer  me?"  he 


IN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  179 

asks.  "Bread  and  wine  and  musical  entertainments? 
I  had  never  heard  of  them,  any  of  them,  and  what 
should  I  be  spending  my  time  with  them  for?  The 
Queen,  Her  Majesty  Victoria,  of  England  and  Ire- 
land and  India,  her  son,  who  will  be  King  if  he  lives, 
Mr.  Gladstone,  Mr.  Morley,  Lord  Tennyson,  and 
the  Houses  of  Parliament,  those  were  what  interested 
me  in  England,  and  the  ships." 

Still  continuing  his  narrative  at  Hawarden,  he 
says:  — 

"Mr.  Gladstone  and  myself,  accompanied  only 
by  Long-li  and  Bruce  [interpreters  and  secretaries], 
took  a  long  stroll  over  his  estate,  and  talked  of 
many  matters  removed  from  state  affairs.  I  was 
surprised  how  well  he  knew  my  life,  and  he  expressed 
the  same  feeling  when  I  told  him  that  which  I  knew 
regarding  himself.  He  spoke  about  the  Queen,  about 
Indian  affairs  and  of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland;  and 
I  was  certain  that  he  hoped  to  see  that  unhappy 
country  governed  better  before  he  died.  '  They  have 
given  their  best  to  England,'  he  said,  'and  in  return 
have  been  given  only  England's  worst.' 

"He  pointed  out  some  tree-stumps  to  me,  and 
said  that  in  eight  years  he  had  kept  his  health 
good  and  muscles  strong  by  this  chopping  exercise. 
It  amused  me  very  much,  and  I  told  him  I  would 
like  to  see  him  strike  a  blow.  So  he  took  up  the 
instrument  for  cutting  and  made  several  great  dents 
in  one  of  the  trees.   Then  he  turned  to  me  and  said : 


i8o       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

'Lord  Li,  did  you  ever  cut  down  a  tree? '  I  told  him 
I  had  many  a  time  when  I  was  a  boy,  but  that  hke 
many  other  boyish  habits  I  had  outgrown  this  one 
also.  But  he  wanted  me  to  try  and  I  did.  However, 
it  was  awkward  work,  for  the  handle  of  the  instru- 
ment caught  in  my  sleeve  and  I  nearly  cut  my  foot." 

"Ow  the  train,  Hour  of  the  Crow.  —  I  slept  two 
hours  during  my  visit  to  Mr.  Gladstone,  and  he  slept 
also  during  that  time. 

"When  we  met  again  a  nice  little  lunch  was  served. 
Rare  oolong,  some  Chinese  crackers,  and  cold  fowl. 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  myself  ate  alone  this  time.  Then, 
just  before  leaving,  we  sat  together  and  were  photo- 
graphed. I  could  not  get  one  of  the  pictures,  although 
I  would  willingly  pay  any  price  for  it.  Still,  I  am  told 
it  will  be  in  all  the  London  papers  in  the  morning." 

During  the  following  two  days  the  memoirs  con- 
tain only  the  briefest  comments  on  the  dinner  given 
in  his  honour  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  his 
visit  to  the  Tower  and  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 
and  finally  a  carriage  ride  through  the  poorer  sec- 
tions of  the  city.  Referring  to  this  last,  he  says 
among  other  things :  — 

"Of  course,  it  is  but  natural  that  the  hosts  of  our 
party  want  to  show  us  only  the  beautiful  and  pros- 
perous in  their  realm.  I  saw  great  grandeur  and 
much  wealth  at  Moscow  and  St.  Petersburg,  the 
temples,  parks,  and  fine  avenues.    I  saw  also  the 


IN   FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND  i8i 

strength  and  greatness  of  Berlin,  and  the  wonderful 
activity  of  Essen,  Bremerhaven,  Munich,  and  other 
cities.  Nevertheless,  my  eyes  were  constantly 
watching  for  insights  into  the  real  conditions  of  the 
people,  and  I  saw  things  that  somehow  told  me  that 
all  was  not  sunshine  and  glory. 

"And  it  is  so  with  London  and  England.  I  dined 
as  the  guest  of  Her  Majesty  at  the  castle,  and  great 
officers  of  state  took  me  to  the  Parliament  and  to 
the  forts  and  arsenals.  I  saw  the  fine  parks  of  Lon- 
don and  some  of  the  great  thoroughfares ;  yet  I  could 
see  in  the  vast  crowds  so  many  people  who  were  poor. 
Even  in  the  short  time  of  my  journey  I  have  learned 
to  distinguish  between  the  different  classes  of  people 
by  the  clothes  they  wear. 

"My  entertainers  were  not  over-pleased,  I  fear, 
by  my  desire  and  request  to  be  taken  for  even  a  brief 
period  through  the  poorer  sections.  'We  have  poor 
in  China,  millions  of  them,  and  the  sight  of  rags  is 
not  new  to  me;  but  I  have  seen  so  many  grand  sights 
that  I  am  afraid,  unless  you  grant  my  wish,  that  to 
leave  in  my  present  frame  of  mind  would  mean  that 
I  had  not  a  true  conception  of  life  in  England.'  It 
was  this  way  that  I  talked  to  them.  And  finally  I 
was  shown,  hurriedly,  some  of  the  poorer  parts  of 
the  city. 

"I  cannot  tell  now  of  all  I  saw,  nor  of  my  fullest 
impressions;  but  I  know  that  I  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  under  a  grand  show  many  of  the 
countries  with  great  armies  and  fleets  of  ships  have 


i82       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

much  misery  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
China  is  not  the  only  country  where  there  are  rags 
and  hunger.  The  Chinaman  cries  out  when  his 
stomach  is  empty  and  his  throat  dry;  but  in  foreign 
lands  the  hungry  man  steals  from  his  neighbour  or 
breaks  into  his  house.  Often,  very  often,  as  I  have 
learned  in  these  few  but  eye-and-mind-opening 
weeks,  he  is  ready  to  make  silent  war  with  bomb  or 
knife  upon  the  Government  he  blames  for  his  hope- 
less condition.  The  more  I  see  and  learn  of  the  lower 
classes  of  people  in  Europe,  the  greater  is  my  love 
and  pity  for  the  miserable  poor  of  my  own  country; 
for,  by  comparison,  the  latter  are  less  vicious.  I 
bow  now  in  respect  to  all  of  China  —  from  Her 
Illustrious  Majesty  and  the  Court  to  the  rivermen 
of  Canton." 

^^On  the  ship  ready  to  sail  for  New  York.  —  Good- 
bye to  you,  Czar  and  Czarina,  and  to  you,  Russia; 
good-bye  to  you.  Kaiser,  Bismarck,  and  my  friend 
Herr  Krupp  of  Essen;  good-bye  to  Happy  and 
Gracious  La  Belle  France;  good-bye  to  Victoria, 
the  Queen,  and  the  Grand  Old  Man. 

"I  am  going  to  Grant's  country." 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK 

That  the  Grand  Ambassador  to  the  Czar's  corona- 
tion was  troubled  again  with  what  he  had  already 
characterised,  crossing  the  EngHsh  Channel,  as  a 
"disordered  stomach,"  due  to  the  "eating  of  Ger- 
man foods,"  and,  perhaps,  to  "  Bismarck's  hofbrau," 
is  evident  from  the  first  entry  in  his  diary  after 
taking  the  Cunarder  at  Liverpool :  — 

"  Third  day  on  a  mad  ocean.  —  After  eating.  I  do 
not  think,  if  ever  I  went  to  Germany  again,  I  would 
eat  either  with  the  Kaiser,  Prince  Bismarck,  or  any 
other  great  man;  that  is,  unless  he  would  be  agree- 
able to  my  taking  my  own  foods  in  my  own  way. 
For  I  find  that  my  stomach  has  not  been  so  dis- 
ordered for  years.  I  do  not  remember  that  I  was 
ever  so  sick  before.  Dr.  Gray,  the  ship's  medical 
officer,  says  that  I  have  been  seasick.  It  is  a  ridicu- 
lous and  most  unscientific  diagnosis  of  my  case,  and 
I  did  not  hesitate  to  tell  him  so.  Dr.  Tong-le  does 
not  agree  with  Dr.  Gray,  and  his  disagreement  gives 
me  more  faith  than  ever  in  our  Chinese  medics. 

"The  master  of  the  vessel  has  been  very  attentive 
to  me;  more  so,  indeed,  than  I  really  desired  —  for 
when  one  feels  as  I  have  felt  in  the  last  three  days, 
he  wishes  most  of  all  to  be  left  alone. 

"Tong-le  says  he  has  never  known  me  to  be  so 


i84       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

irritable,  and  my  good  cook  says  he  has  been  unable 
to  please  me.  Poor  fellow!  he  has  staggered  about  the 
ship  like  a  man  filled  with  strong  drink,  and  I  know 
he  is  not  any  happier  than  I  am.  But  he  is  seasick; 
for  he  can  demolish  all  kinds  of  foods,  foreign  and 
Chinese,  without  experiencing  the  least  ill-effects 
afterwards. 

"The  sun  is  bright  and  warm  to-day,  and  I  am 
beginning  to  enjoy  the  ocean  air.  We  shall  be  half 
the  distance  to  America  by  to-night,  they  tell  me. 
I  am  also  told  that  this  mad  ocean  is  quieter  on  the 
American  side." 

^^  Fifth  day  out.  —  If  the  people  aboard  this  ship 
are  a  fair  sample  of  the  great  mass  of  Americans 
I  am  sure  they  are  a  wonderful  nation.  The  men 
are  as  polite  as  the  French,  and  do  not  stare  at  one 
like  the  Londoners.  I  was  not  pleased  with  the 
crowds  of  England's  capital.  They  were  rough  in 
looks  and  in  behaviour,  and  many  low  fellows  did 
actually  try  to  insult  me.  But  the  police  were  every- 
where vigilant  and  superbly  organised,  and  several 
times  the  thugs  were  taught  good  lessons  with  clubs. 

"I  think  every  one  on  board  this  ship,  excepting 
the  third-class  passengers  and  some  of  the  crew, 
have  been  presented  to  me  in  one  way  or  another. 
Fine  old  men,  said  to  be  the  very  rich,  are  among 
the  passengers.  One  of  them,  who  owns  many 
railroads,  was  introduced  by  an  American  army 
colonel,  and  later  he  brought  his  wife  and  daughter. 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK     185 

The  latter  is  the  belle  of  the  ship,  and  would  do  for 
a  princess  at  court.  I  told  the  interpreter  to  tell 
her  so,  and  she  replied  with  all  the  sweetness  in  the 
world  that  she  would  like  to  be  if  I  were  king! 

"  I  think  that  was  the  highest  praise  I  ever  heard, 
and  I  shall  send  Miss  Marvin  enough  fine  silks  for 
the  rest  of  her  life.  She  gave  me  a  beautiful  fan, 
which  she  said  she  had  purchased  in  Italy.  It  was 
so  rich  and  expensive  that  I  did  not  want  to  take  it, 
and  so  told  her.  But  she  insisted,  and  I  kissed  her 
hand.  I  have  never  before  kissed  a  strange  lady's 
hand,  —  not  outside  of  our  Northern  Capital, — 
but  I  saw  much  of  it  in  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow. 
I  think  now  that  the  Czarina  expected  me  to  kiss  her 
hand  when  she  extended  it  immediately  after  the 
ceremony  of  the  coronation,  but  I  neglected  to  do 
it  through  my  ignorance  and  excitement.  Instead 
I  placed  in  her  hand  the  Precious  Queen  Jade  Ring 
which  the  Dowager  had  sent  as  a  present. 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  apparent  embarrass- 
ment of  the  Czar  and  his  Consort,  to  be  immedi- 
ately followed  by  a  most  pleased  look  upon  the  lovely 
face  of  the  pale  Czarina.  In  a  glance  she  examined 
the  Precious  Ring,  and  then  gladly  extended  her 
hand  once  more,  the  ring  upon  her  finger.  I  was 
excited  somewhat,  and  took  the  hand  in  both  of 
mine  and  knelt  upon  the  rug.  I  suppose  there  is  no 
man  with  his  eyes  open  who  will  not  learn  something 
every  day.  Even  Confucius  said  that  a  thousand 
years  of  study  was  only  a  preparation  for  the  real 


i86       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

knowledge  one  should  possess  to  be  able  to  stand 
among  his  ancestors." 

"^  Christian  holiday  [Sunday].  —  My  teeth  are 
troubling  me  to-day;  that  is,  those  which  are  not 
false.  When  I  get  to  Shanghai  again  I  shall  have 
these  last  troubling  ones  removed.  We  shall  be  in 
New  York  to-morrow.  I  feel  thirty  years  younger 
than  Gladstone." 

^^ At  evening,  Second  Hour  of  the  Crow.  —  I  shall 
go  to  my  bed  early,  for  we  shall  be  in  New  York 
Harbour  at  daylight.  I  am  worried  about  this 
American  life  I  must  lead  for  two  or  three  weeks. 
I  hope  it  will  be  much  shorter.  I  only  want  to  see 
Cleveland,  and  the  tomb  of  General  Grant." 

It  is  exactly  a  week,  according  to  the  diary, 
before  His  Excellency  takes  up  again  the  narrative 
of  his  trip,  writing  at  the  Hotel  Bellevue,  Phila- 
delphia: — 

"How  can  I  write  of  all  that  has  happened  in  the 
six  days  just  past?  It  seems  as  if  I  had  lived  a  year 
or  more  since  I  landed  in  New  York  from  the  Atlan- 
tic steamer.  I  have  been  tired  almost  beyond  words, 
but  the  reception  I  have  been  accorded  by  this  great 
American  people  has  filled  me  with  pride,  and  I 
know  that  in  China  it  will  be  thought  most  won- 
derful. 

"And  is  it  not  strange?   For  years  my  people  have 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK     187 

been  barred  out  of  this  rich  country  —  not  because 
they  were  criminals  or  had  leprosy,  but  just  be- 
cause they  were  born  in  China.  If  the  same  persons 
had  been  born  in  Japan  or  Korea  or  India  or  Eng- 
land they  would  have  been  let  pass  through  the 
emigrant  gates.  And  yet,  I  was  born  in  China,  and 
these  Americans,  high  and  low,  pay  me  the  honour 
and  attention  due  a  visiting  monarch.  I  will  see  if 
this  cannot  be  changed  somewhat. 

"I  have  met  that  great-and-everywhere  person 
known  as  the  American  newspaper  man,  and  I  have 
enjoyed  him.  Also,  I  guess,  he  has  enjoyed  me,  for 
I  have  been  told  more  funny  things  by  the  reporters 
than  I  ever  heard  in  all  my  life  before.  They  are  a 
jolly  lot  of  fellows,  and  I  think  a  regiment  of  them 
would  make  the  biggest  army  [enemy]  laugh  so 
much  that  they  either  could  not  fight,  or  would  not 
want  to  shoot  such  clever  chaps. 

"When  we  came  sailing  into  New  York  Bay,  — 
before,  indeed,  we  had  really  left  the  mad  ocean 
behind  us,  —  there  were  many  craft  coming  to  meet 
us,  smoke  from  their  funnels,  and  white  steam  and 
noise  from  their  whistles.  Ahead  of  all  the  rest  were 
two  or  three  handsome  launches,  making  for  our 
ship  as  if  they  would  run  us  down.  I  thought  these 
must  be  the  official  boats,  and  I  went  far  forward 
on  the  ship  and  looked  ahead  to  the  oncoming 
vessels. 

"There  were  no  ladies  on  these  first  boats,  and  I 
surely  thought  they  must  be  the  carriers  of  the 


i88        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

officials.  But  I  soon  learned  my  mistake,  for  these 
were  the  boats  of  the  American  press.  Our  big  ship 
slowed  down  —  for  the  press  is  all-powerful  in  the 
United  States  —  and  a  lot  of  men  scrambled  aboard. 
They  were  clean,  fine-looking  fellows;  like  young 
diplomats  or  secretaries  in  a  foreign  office. 

"At  first  I  was  somewhat  nonplussed  at  their 
familiarity,  for  they  neither  bowed  nor  hung  back, 
but  came  straight  to  our  party,  and  began  introduc- 
ing themselves  and  shaking  hands.  It  was  impossible 
to  be  offended,  although,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  at  a 
loss  just  what  to  do  or  say.  But  soon  I  got  used  to 
the  fine  fellows,  and  took  them  as  far  forward  on  the 
deck  as  we  could  go. 

"When  I  had  them  there  I  said:  'Now,  gentle- 
men, I  have  come  to  see  America,  and  not  to  be  the 
distributor  of  information.  I  want  to  learn  things. 
Therefore,  please  tell  my  secretaries  all  about  the 
points  of  interest  as  we  go  up  the  harbour.'  And 
they  did  it,  too.  I  asked  about  everything  I  saw, 
and  before  we  had  landed  in  New  York  I  could  tell 
many  things  concerning  the  city,  especially  what 
buildings  loomed  up  into  the  sky,  the  various  waters 
of  the  bay,  the  islands,  and  the  forts,  and  a  lot  of 
such  information  as  only  one  who  travels  may 
acquire. 

"From  that  morning  to  this  I  have  not  been  — 
I  was  going  to  say  an  instant  —  an  hour,  in  my  wak- 
ing life,  without  the  company  of  my  newspaper 
friends.    At  Washington,  with  the  officials,  on  the 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK    189 

trains,  at  all  the  receptions  and  meetings,  even  wait- 
ing for  me  at  the  hotels  when  I  wanted  to  retire,  and 
again  looking  for  me  before  I  had  partaken  of  the 
first  morning  meal  —  they  are  wonderful  and  tire- 
less, and  deserve  to  earn  a  great  deal  of  money.  I 
saw  them  hobnobbing  with  the  President  and  with 
Governors,  just  as  if  these  high  officials  were  only 
respectable  tax-gatherers.  Still,  it  all  told  me  that 
this  country  was,  indeed,  the  democrac}-  of  the 
world.  That  great  lesson  I  learned  from  the  actions 
of  the  American  newspaper  men,  and  I  bless  them 
for  it! 

"  I  am  a  journalist  myself.  Many  people  would  be 
willing  to  doubt  and  to  ridicule,  but  it  is  true  never- 
theless. While  I  have  never  published  a  journal,  nor 
acted  as  editor,  the  profession  of  writing  is  so  noble 
that  I  am  honoured  to  claim  membership  therein. 
When  in  my  youth  I  thought  of  my  future,  I  said 
that  some  day  I  wanted  to  be  the  Chang-yuan  [poet- 
laureate]  of  my  country,  and  I  studied  long  and  dili- 
gently. I  took  my  degrees  ahead  of  many  thousands, 
the  hsui-tsai  [A.B.],  the  chu-jen  [M.A.],  and  the 
tsun-sz  [LL.D.],  following  each  other  rapidly.  And 
I  have  written  and  written  for  many  years. 

"One  young  reporter  laughed  long  when  I  told 
him  I  was  a  newspaper  man,  too,  and  that  he  surely 
did  not  expect  me  to  give  him  all  the  information  I 
had  gathered.  He  had  been  asking  me  questions  like 
a  rapid-fire  gun,  and  I  saw  he  was  new  at  his  profes- 
sion, and  I  pitied  him. 


190       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"'You  say,  Mr.  Li  Hung  Chung,  that  you  are  a 
newspaper  man?'  he  asked  when  I  appeared  serious. 

"'Yes,'  I  repHed,  ' I  have  written  a  great  deal  that 
has  been  published  in  our  Chinese  papers,  and  which 
the  editors  did  not  dare  refuse.' 

"'How  was  that?'  he  enquired. 

"'They  were  decrees  from  the  Throne,'  I  told 
him. 

"Evidently  that  was  all  he  needed  for  his  article 
that  day;  for  he  left  me  immediately,  after  offering 
me  a  cigar,  and  the  next  morning  I  read  in  one  of  the 
New  York  papers  that  ^  Li  Hung  Chang  is  a  writer 
who  uses  an  axe  on  any  man  who  dares  Blue  Pencil  his 

Stuff: 

"The  newspaper  men  of  New  York  have  given 
me  such  treatment  that  I  shall  never  forget  them. 
While  they  have  not  treated  my  visit  in  the  severe 
manner  of  the  Germans,  or  in  the  half-patronising 
attitude  of  the  London  and  Liverpool  journals,  they 
have  tried  to  get  at  the  truth  regarding  China  and 
the  affairs  of  the  Far  East.  The  editorial  writers 
have  poked  a  little  fun  at  our  party,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  chief  editors  have  made  my  visit  the  oc- 
casion for  long  and  sensible  editorials  upon  China 
and  her  people.  For  this  I  thank  them.  The  great 
United  States  has  been  our  friend  in  the  past  —  even 
though  she  shut  out  the  emigrants  —  and  she  will  be 
our  strong  friend  in  need  some  day. 

"Of  all  the  cities  in  the  world  I  think  New  York 
is  the  worst.   The  worst,  least  suited  to  the  life  of 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK    191 

Li  Hung  Chang,  I  mean.    Of  course,  they  did  not 
think  of  me  when  they  were  building  it. 

"But  I  should  not  want  to  live  where,  if  an  earth- 
quake happened,  ten  thousand  tons  of  stone  and 
iron  would  topple  over  on  my  head.  Oh,  I  have  pains 
now  in  my  head  and  neck  from  looking  up!  And  when 
I  was  looking  up,  there  were  hundreds  of  thousands 
looking  down  at  me  —  like  people  in  crevices  of 
great  cliffs,  four  times  higher  than  our  tallest  pago- 
das. Had  they  been  enemies,  how  easy  for  one  or 
ten  of  them  to  drop  heavy  boulders  down  into  my 
carriage!  But  they  were  all  friends,  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  friends  of  the  Throne,  of  the  Grand 
Ambassador  and  his  party,  and  of  the  millions  and 
millions  of  my  countrymen.  I  know  this  to  be  so,  for 
flags  and  banners  and  long  streamers  waved  every- 
where. Even  the  myriads  of  young  folks  and  chil- 
dren waved  little  flags  of  yellow  silk  upon  which 
were  painted  the  Dragon,  and  beautiful  women  and 
girls  cheered  for  China  and  clapped  their  pretty 
hands.  It  was  all  very  pleasing,  very  satisfying  to 
me  and  those  with  me,  and  I  know  the  news  will  be 
told  far  and  wide  in  China." 

^^  Later.  Same  night.  — The  fine  picture  of  Presi- 
dent Cleveland,  which  I  made  him  promise  me  in 
New  York,  was  delivered  by  a  special  Government 
messenger  this  evening.  Mrs.  Cleveland's  picture 
also  accompanies  the  President's,  and  there  is  this 
brief  but  delightful  inscription  in  her  own  hand: 


192       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

'  Joining  with  the  President  in  sending  photographs 
to  the  most  distinguished  of  Chinese  statesmen,  I 
also  request  that  assurances  of  my  highest  esteem  be 
given  Her  Majesty  the  Empress  Dowager.* 

"It  is  told  me  that  of  all  those  fair  women  who 
have  been  mistresses  of  the  Executive  Mansion  at 
Washington,  Mrs,  Cleveland  is  one  of  the  most 
lovable.  This  I  can  readily  believe,  for  I  do  not  know 
when  or  where  I  have  seen  a  face  and  form  more 
pleasing  to  the  eye.  I  would  call  her  the  Mother  of 
Graciousness  and  the  Sister  of  Heavenly  Love.  As 
the  Chief  Lady  of  the  United  States  she  is  an  orna- 
ment to  her  sex,  and  a  glory  to  womankind  the  world 
over.  I  wish  the  illustrious  and  sacred  Empress 
Dowager  could  know  Mrs.  Cleveland  and  the 
Czarina. 

"President  Cleveland  could  not  have  paid  a 
higher  compliment  to  royalty  than  he  did  to  me  and 
the  members  of  our  party.  It  was  so  great  and  affect- 
ing that  I  authorised  C'Lung  to  expend  fifteen  hun- 
dred taels  upon  a  message  to  the  Throne  telling 
of  the  American  President's  superlative  compliment 
in  coming  all  the  way  from  Washington  to  New 
York  to  greet  us.  Could  he  have  done  more?  No, 
if  he  had  offered  me  the  post  of  Secretary  of  State  I 
could  not  have  felt  more  highly  honoured. 

"I  cannot  compare  Mr.  Cleveland  with  any  man 
whom  I  have  met,  unless  it  is  with  Prince  Bismarck. 
Yet,  while  he  appears  to  have  the  great  force  and 
will-power  of  the  Iron  Chancellor,  I  am  sure  he  is 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK    193 

not  possessed  of  the  same  quick  temper.  Bismarck 
kicked  one  of  his  hounds,  and  slapped  a  lackey  for 
letting  the  dog  get  in  his  way.  I  cannot  imagine 
President  Cleveland  doing  that,  or  getting  so  red  in 
the  face  as  Bismarck  did.  Still,  one  cannot  always 
tell.  I  had  a  lesser  wife  [concubine]  once,  who,  before 
she  came  to  my  house,  was  the  personification  of 
meekness  and  lovability.  I  almost  began  to  believe, 
before  marriage,  that  she  was  too  mild  in  mind  to  be 
really  human;  but  in  six  weeks  she  began  to  make 
my  tea  bitter,  and  to  treat  me  as  if  I  were  the  tail 
instead  of  the  head  of  that  establishment.  I  paid  her 
twenty  shoes  of  silver  [perhaps  about  $300]  and  sent 
her  away. 

"This  recalls  some  of  the  questions  of  another 
reporter  in  New  York.  He  wanted  to  know  how 
many  wives  I  had,  and  after  I  told  him  I  had  as 
many  as  I  needed,  he  was  impertinent  enough  to 
ask  how  many  I  needed.  The  question  did  not  please 
me,  but  I  did  not  let  him  know  it,  for  that  would 
have  been  a  satisfaction  to  him  which  I  did  not  wish 
to  give.  And  so  I  asked,  'How  many  wives  have 
you?'  He  answered  quickly,  'None.'  'Good,'  I 
said,  'you  look  as  if  you  might  be  able  to  take  care 
of  just  that  number.' 

"When  Mr.  Cleveland  and  myself  talked  about 
wives  and  women  in  America  and  China,  it  was 
different.  The  President  was  seeking  enlightenment, 
and  so  was  I.  He  laughed  heartily  when  I  told  him 
that  if  he  were  President  of  China  he  would  have, 


194       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

as  he  has  here,  but  one  wife  in  full  legal  status;  but 
that  undoubtedly  he  would  also  possess  a  secondary 
wife  in  each  province,  or  perhaps  more.  '  No,  no,'  he 
said,  the  tears  of  laughter  running  down  his  cheeks. 
'But,  come  to  think  of  it,'  he  continued,  'it  takes  a 
man  capable  of  managing  sixteen  or  eighteen  Chinese 
women  to  govern  one  American  girl.' 

"I  cannot  pretend  now  to  tell  of  all  our  activities 
in  New  York,  with  the  dinners  and  receptions  and 
the  speeches.  The  Mayor  presented  me  with  the 
keys  of  the  city;  at  least,  that  is  what  he  said  he  was 
doing.  The  ceremony  meant  that  I  could  go  where 
I  pleased,  eat  and  purchase  what  I  pleased,  and  even 
buy  fine  silks  and  satins,  and  the  country  would  pay 
for  it  all.  But,  as  it  happened,  I  was  n't  allowed  at 
any  time  to  go  where  I  pleased,  nor  to  spend  so 
much  as  a  cash  [about  one  eighth  of  a  cent].  I  saw 
the  great  Central  Park,  the  Courts,  and  the  Prison. 
There  is  another  prison  on  an  island  in  one  of  the 
big  rivers  that  run  around  New  York;  or,  rather, 
through  New  York,  for  the  original  city,  built  on 
an  island,  has  spread  out  over  territory  in  two  or 
three  provinces  or  states. 

"A  great  river,  as  wide  as  ours  at  Hankow,  bounds 
the  city  upon  one  side.  I  went  up  this  fine  stream 
when  I  was  taken  to  visit  the  tomb  of  the  great 
General  Grant,  who  put  down  the  rebellion  of  the 
Confederates  as  I  had  put  down  the  long  turmoils 
of  the  Taipings.  And,  strange  enough,  I  was  fight- 
ing the  Taipings  with  Ching  and  Gordon  in  1863 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK    195 

while  General  Grant  was  fighting  to  reach  the  rebel 
capital. 

"I  think,  if  they  wanted  to  win,  that  the  Confed- 
erates used  poor  judgment  when  they  placed  their 
capital  so  near  the  old  capital  of  the  country.  Why, 
the  distance  is  not  greater  than  that  between 
Shanghai  and  Nanking!  If  their  army  lost  the 
battles  in  front  of  their  capital,  their  Government 
must  run  away  or  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  other 
side.  A  Government  that  is  running  like  a  rabbit, 
or  trapped  like  a  guinea-pig,  does  not  command 
much  respect  from  its  followers.  I  have  looked  at  a 
map  of  the  Confederacy,  and  I  should  have  estab- 
lished the  capital  somewhere  in  Texas.  It  could  be 
moved  later. 

"I  cannot  shed  tears  as  some  people  do,  —  there 
are  those  who  shed  them  when  they  break  the  shell 
of  a  painted  egg,  —  but  my  heart  was  full  of  bitter 
sadness  and  sweet  memory  when  I  stood  beside  the 
tomb  of  my  glorious  departed  friend  General  Grant. 
Of  course,  I  was  in  a  manner  happy  to  think  and 
know  that  I  could  stand  at  his  holy  grave,  and  speak 
to  him  in  the  Other  Land  of  Blissful  Longevity.  It  is 
at  the  grave  of  the  departed  that  one's  words  are  of 
most  effect.  The  spirits  linger  there  to  listen,  and 
when  the  distressed  friend  comes  and  speaks,  his 
words  are  caught  up  and  carried  to  the  Sacred  Hol- 
low, where  the  Seven  Springs  are  always  flowing. 

"And  so  I  told  the  spirit  of  my  departed  and 
illustrious  friend  that  I  had  come  all  the  way  from 


196       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

distant  China  to  look  upon  his  tomb  as  I  had  looked 
upon  his  face  so  many  years  ago.  And  it  was  the 
very  truth ;  for  while  I  had  an  official  mission  to  per- 
form for  my  Sovereign,  and  a  message  of  good  will 
to  take  to  the  Czar  and  to  the  rulers  of  Belgium, 
Germany,  and  the  other  countries,  I  had  in  my  heart 
a  loving  desire  to  speak  my  inmost  thoughts  to  the 
spirit  of  the  famous  American  commander. 

"  I  could  not  have  returned  satisfied  to  China  had 
I  left  this  sweet  and  flower-scented  duty  unper- 
formed. I  offered  sweet  incense  and  holy  flowers  to 
his  spirit.  I  placed  a  booklet  of  prayers  at  his  head, 
and  I  asked  his  blessed  spirit  to  think  of  me  always, 
and  to  give  me  welcome  to  the  Land  of  Sunshine  and 
Golden  Hours.  This  done,  I  am  filled  with  an  ocean 
of  peace  and  content;  just  as  when,  at  the  grave  of 
my  illustrious  and  most  holy  mother,  I  find  joy  of 
the  heart  and  incense  of  the  mind. 

"  I  have  thought  and  thought  so  much  of  General 
Grant.  He  came  to  China  covered  with  the  honour 
and  plaudits  of  the  whole  world,  and  we  honoured 
him  still  more;  we  honoured  him  as  no  foreigner 
before  or  since  has  been  honoured  in  our  country. 

"And  —  is  it  not  strange?  —  was  he  speaking  to 
me?  —  of  General  Grant  I  was  thinking  when  the 
Japanese  rufifian  attempted  my  life  at  Shimonoseki; 
when  the  Marquis  Ito  and  myself,  as  representatives 
of  our  nations,  were  engaged  in  the  treaty  of  peace. 
Is  it  not  strange? 

"  Yes,  I  even  looked  beyond  to  the  trees  of  General 


ATLANTIC  VOYAGE  AND  NEW  YORK  197 

Grant  and  Mrs.  Grant,  and  spoke  to  him  as  I  felt 
the  burning  of  the  maniac's  bullet!" 

The  Viceroy's  memoirs  take  it  as  being  well  known 
that  during  the  visit  of  General  and  Mrs.  Grant  to 
the  Far  East  the  Japanese  honoured  them,  among 
many  ways,  by  the  planting  of  two  splendid  trees 
of  the  Samurai  clan  on  a  little  island  opposite  the 
city  of  Shimonoseki,  dedicating  the  ground  as  sa- 
cred. Upon  one  tree  was  hung  a  copper  portrait 
and  inscription  of  the  General,  and  a  like  placard 
with  the  picture  of  Mrs.  Grant  upon  the  other.  It  is 
recorded  locally  that  soon  after  General  Grant's 
death  the  tree  dedicated  to  him  withered  away,  but 
that  the  other  grew  green  and  luxuriant  until  Mrs. 
Grant's  death,  when  it,  too,  died. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WHAT  HE   SAW   IN  AMERICA 

"Philadelphia,  the  city  of  Brotherly  Love,  as  It 
is  called,  also  the  city  of  the  Cradle  of  American 
Liberty.  I  want  to  put  down  a  few  impressions  now, 
for  in  a  few  days  more  I  shall  be  commencing  the 
long  journey  across  the  United  States  toward  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  my  beloved  home.  I  am  getting 
homesick  for  China;  and  although  of  late  I  have 
been  sending  brief  despatches  by  cable  to  the 
Court,  always  with  love  and  reverence  for  the  illus- 
trious Throne,  I  am  anxious  to  tell  China  about  my 
triumphal  journey  in  foreign  lands,  as  a  first  wife 
is  to  relate  the  antics  of  her  first-born  boy. 

"If  New  York  is  the  noisiest,  most  mind-distract- 
ing and  elbow-rubbing  place  I  ever  saw,  and  Wash- 
ington the  most  beautiful  and  open, — though  I 
have  no  doubt  my  French  friends  would  not  thank 
me  for  saying  this,  especially  considering  the  woods 
of  Paris  [the  Viceroy  probably  refers  to  the  Bois 
de  Boulogne  or  the  wide  boulevards] ,  —  Philadelphia 
is  one  of  the  most  smiling  of  cities. 

"Of  course,  I  mean  the  people,  for  I  cannot  say 
that  the  city  has  any  sections  which  compare  at  all 
with  the  upper  parts  of  New  York,  from  Grant's 
tomb  and  beyond ;  nor  has  it  anything  half  so  impos- 


WHAT  HE  SAW  IN  AMERICA  199 

ing  in  buildings  or  thoroughfares  as  the  Capitol  and 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  of  Washington. 

"The  crowds  are  not  as  dense  as  they  are  in  New 
York,  nor  as  well-dressed  as  those  in  Washington  or 
Paris,  but  they  are  better-natured  than  any  I  have 
seen  anywhere.  Clean,  nice-looking  people,  too, 
with  smiles  all  over  their  faces,  and  cheers  and 
'hellos'  and  other  friendly  greetings  coming  from 
their  throats. 

"I  think  the  place  well  named  'City  of  Brotherly 
Love.'  But  I  am  going  to  invent  a  new  title, — 
which  I  told  the  Mayor,  and  he  said  he  would  write 
it  down,  —  and  call  it  the  Place  of  a  Million  Smiles. 
That  is  almost  poetic,  but  it  is  proper,  for  I  have 
also  written  some  lines  on  the  Liberty  Bell,  which 
are  yet  to  be  rewritten  when  I  return  to  China." 

Whether  Li  Hung  Chang  ever  rewrote  his  lines 
upon  the  Liberty  Bell,  composed  during  his  stay  in 
Philadelphia,  is  not  known.  Certain  it  is  that  a 
careful  search  of  his  quite  countless  manuscripts 
and  notes  fails  to  reveal  any  further  attempt  to 
improve  or  revise  the  few  original  lines,  although  in 
several  places  in  his  memoirs  of  later  date  he  refers 
to  the  Liberty  Bell  and  his  visit  to  Philadelphia. 

The  poem  to  which  he  refers,  and  which  has  an 
excellent  cadence  and  metre  according  to  Chinese 
standards,  is  extremely  difficult  of  rendition  in 
English,  if  attempt  is  made  to  follow  the  author's 
rather  involved  thought :  — 


200       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

To  my  eyes  they  did  point  out  the  symbol  of  Liberty, 

And  to  my  ears  they  did  direct  the  sound. 

It  was  only  a  sound  of  dong-dong. 

And  it  came  from  an  instrument  of  brass  made  by  man. 

The  bell  did  not  ring  to  my  ears; 

I  could  not  hear  the  voice  in  my  ears; 

But  in  my  heart  its  tones  took  hold, 

And  I  learned  that  its  brazen  tongue 

Even  in  silence  told  of  struggles  against  wrong. 

These  good  sons  of  America 

Call  the  Liberty  Bell  ancient; 

But  I  who  come  from  the  oldest  of  the  lands, 

A  student  of  the  philosophy  of  the  ages, 

Know  that  what  this  bell  speaks 

Is  of  Heaven's  wisdom, 

Millions  of  centuries  before  the  earth  was  born. 

It  repeats  the  heart  words  of  the  gods; 
It  repeats,  only  repeats: 
But  let  it  do  so  to  the  end. 

In  his  prose  regarding  the  Liberty  Bell,  the 
Viceroy  speaks  again  of  its  age,  but  in  a  much 
lighter  vein :  — 

"They  showed  me  a  beautifully-shaped  old  bell, 
which  is  in  Independence  Hall,  and  is  called  the  Bell 
of  Liberty;  which  means  that  at  its  ringing  all  men 
within  sound  of  its  voice  know  they  are  free.  But 
they  do  not  ring  it  any  more  because  it  is  cracked. 
Is  Liberty  cracked  also? 

"When  I  was  informed  that  it  was  considered 
'old,'  in  fact,  called  the  'Old  Liberty  Bell,'  I  asked 
regarding  its  age,  and  some  of  the  officials  began 
looking  quizzically  one  to  another.    The  Governor 


WHAT  HE  SAW  IN  AMERICA  201 

of  the  State  himself  did  not  know  its  age,  but  finally 
some  fellow  with  sharp  eyes  discerned  a  date  on  the 
symbol,  whether  inside  or  out  I  cannot  say,  and 
announced  that  it  was  some  hundred  or  two  years 
old. 

''Ho!  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  (I  forget  which) 
years  old !  He !  we  should  laugh  in  China  if  any  one 
should  call  anything  old  at  that  age.  It  is  simply 
an  infant,  still  suckling.  I  laughed  at  the  mention, 
and  I  told  the  Governor.  He  winked  and  said : '  Yes, 
Viceroy,  all  the  nations  are  suckling  infants  com- 
pared to  your  venerable  land.'  .  .  .  With  that  I 
bowed  and  thanked  him,  and  I  liked  him  for  his 
speech. 

"The  great  celebration  for  our  party  in  this  city 
was  held  principally  about  the  place  where  the 
Liberty  Bell  is  guarded  —  a  building  called  Inde- 
pendence Hall.  It  is  a  small  structure,  not  half  as 
large  as  the  Hall  of  Sacred  Records  at  Canton,  nor 
even  of  the  Temple  of  the  Great  Philosopher  at  the 
Forbidden  City.  Here  it  was  that  the  first  Assembly 
of  American  representatives  met  to  declare  war  upon 
England,  and  freedom  from  her  heavy  taxes.  The 
English  taxed  everything  the  Americans  used,  almost, 
excepting  the  air  and  the  water.  The  worst  tax  of 
all  was  upon  tea  grown  in  China.  The  Americans 
were  very  fond  of  tea,  and  they  wanted  much  of  it. 
So  England  decided  that  she  could  raise  large  rev- 
enues by  taxing  the  tea.  Then  the  Americans  threw 
the  tea  into  the  harbours,  tax  and  all,  and  would 


202       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

drink  nothing  but  milk  and  water  and  whisky  for  a 
long  time.  Not  much  tea  was  drunk  for  eight  years, 
when  the  war  ended  with  England  beaten.  It  was 
what  she  deserved.  I  should  hate  any  man  who 
deprived  me  of  my  sou-chong  [a  rare  variety  of  tea, 
such  as  the  Viceroy  carried  as  a  present  to  the  Czar 
and  Czarina,  and  such  as  he  invariably  used  him- 
self whenever  it  was  obtainable]. 

"There  were  several  speeches  in  and  about 
Independence  Hall,  even  myself  making  a  brief 
address,  which  was  translated  by  —  I  cannot 
recall  his  name,  a  secretary  of  our  Washington  lega- 
tion. It  was  only  a  few  sentences,  the  best  wishes 
of  the  Chinese  nation  to  the  United  States.  I  also 
spoke  a  few  words  in  English:  'I  am  proud  to  be 
welcomed  in  the  land  of  Washington.' 

"I  must  not  forget  the  Mayor  of  Philadelphia, 
the  Honourable  Mr.  Warrick  [Warwick],  who  was 
a  jolly  fellow,  wearing  a  silk  hat  and  a  perpetual 
smile.  The  smile  suited  his  city.  Mr.  Honourable 
Mayor  made  one  of  the  longest  speeches  I  have  heard 
on  this  trip,  and  he  put  me  to  sleep.  Yes,  I  really  fell 
into  a  deep  doze  during  his  spouting,  and  it  took 
roars  of  laughter  to  awaken  me  to  the  sense  of  my 
position.  When  I  opened  my  eyes  I  saw  thousands 
of  people  laughing  and  clapping  their  hands,  and  at 
first  I  thought  it  must  have  been  some  very  humor- 
ous or  witty  remark  of  the  speaker's  that  had  brought 
about  such  an  extraordinary  outburst  of  good  nature. 
Then  I  saw  that  everybody  was  looking  at  me,  includ- 


WHAT  HE  SAW  IN  AMERICA  203 

ing  the  Honourable  Mayor  himself.  He  was  laugh- 
ing with  the  rest!  Of  course,  I  felt  a  little  embar- 
rassed. Then  the  speaker  said,  half  to  me  and  half 
to  the  immense  audience,  'His  Excellency  does  not 
like  long  speeches,  evidently;  so  I  will  cut  mine 
short.'  This  being  translated  to  me  I  had  my  secre- 
tary say  to  the  Honourable  Mayor  that  I  did  like 
long  speeches,  for  during  them  I  could  have  long 
sleeps.  The  Honourable  Mayor  repeated  my  words 
to  his  hearers,  and  there  was  laughter  and  cheer- 
ing for  several  minutes.  Anyway,  the  Honourable 
Mayor  finished  what  he  had  to  say  quickly,  the 
bands  began  to  play,  and  the  soldiers  —  they  were 
Pennsylvania  State  Troops  [National  Guard]  — 
began  to  march,  and  our  party  entered  carriages  and 
were  driven  up  to  Broad  Street. 

"Broad  Street  is  well  named.  It  is  very  broad, 
and  many  miles  long;  the  longest  straight  street  in 
all  the  world.  I  looked  down  it  both  ways  from  the 
City  Hall,  and  it  seemed  to  have  no  endings.  Some 
one  told  me  it  was  thirty  miles  in  length,  which,  if 
true,  is  nearly  one  and  one  half  times  as  long  as  the 
great  outer  wall  of  Peking.  In  New  York  their  prin- 
cipal street  is  called  Broadway,  when  it  is  not  broad 
at  all,  but  narrow,  as  thoroughfares  go  in  this  coun- 
try. I  think  it  is  not  as  wide  as  the  Hatemen  Road 
in  Peking;  but  with  its  buildings  it  makes  me  think 
of  the  Si-kiang  River  at  Sin-chow,  with  its  tremen- 
dous depths  and  high  banks.  But  Broadway  leads 
the  universe  for  business,  and  'Business'  is  the  key- 


204       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

note  of  progress  to-day.  In  America,  especially, 
everything  is  'Business,'  even  to  the  art  of  writing. 
Nobody  in  the  United  States  writes  for  the  mere  love 
of  the  work.  No,  the  most  immortal  poem  or  the 
greatest  tale  of  true  love  and  heroism  must  be  paid 
for  before  the  writers  will  let  their  manuscripts  out 
of  their  hands.  It  is  wonderful  to  think  that  if  I  had 
been  paid  even  a  tael  for  each  full  page  I  have  written 
I  should  be  almost  a  millionaire!" 

It  may  be  well  to  explain  here,  lest  the  explana- 
tion made  in  the  introduction  be  already  forgotten, 
that  Li  Hung  Chang's  favourite  writing-paper  — 
if  we  are  to  judge  by  what  he  used  —  was  extra 
heavy,  and  cut  to  a  size  approximating  a  postal- 
card,  though  not  of  exactly  that  shape.  His  writ- 
ten characters  were  large,  about  a  36  point  in  type 
measurement,  while  his  emphasised  or  exclamatory 
words  or  characters  were  often  written  much  larger. 
This,  being  considered,  with  the  further  fact  that 
seldom  or  never  did  he  write  beyond  three  lines  to 
a  "page,"  will  help  to  render  this  last  statement  of 
his  less  exaggerated  than  it  seems  upon  its  face 
to  be. 

"  I  find  that  the  matter  of  local  or  provincial  pride 
is  the  same  the  world  over.  Londoners,  in  spite  of 
the  fog  and  damp  of  their  great  city,  will  tell  you 
that  it  is  the  best  place  on  the  planet  to  live  in.  New 
Yorkers  say  that  outside  of  New  York  there  is  little 


WHAT   HE  SAW  IN  AMERICA  205 

to  see,  and  they  let  their  local  pride  lead  them  to 
scoff  at  and  make  fun  of  Philadelphia.  Of  course, 
the  intelligent  people  know  that  this  is  only  palaver, 
but  the  ignorant  get  it  into  their  heads,  and  wag 
their  tongues  as  if  it  were  the  sacred  truth. 

"And  this  makes  me  think  of  what  one  of  the 
reporters  said  to  our  party  when  we  came  from  New 
York.  He  said  that  when  we  were  in  Philadelphia 
we  would  be  either  dead  or  asleep.  I  did  not  make 
reply  at  the  time,  but  I  have  since  thought  that 
there  was  more  danger  of  being  dead  in  New  York, 
with  all  the  rush  and  noise  overhead  and  on  all 
sides,  than  in  Philadelphia. 

"But  was  it  not  humorous  that  in  all  my  travels, 
however  tired  and  worn  I  might  be,  I  never  went  to 
sleep  in  public  before?  I  had  a  temptation  to  tell 
the  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  when  he  and  the  other 
officials  came  to  meet  our  party  at  a  junction  point 
[Germantown?],  what  the  New  York  reporter  had 
said,  but  I  was  afraid  it  might  offend  him,  for  I  did 
not  know  what  a  good-natured  man  he  was.  After- 
ward he  himself  told  me  how  all  the  country  called 
Philadelphia  slow  and  sleepy,  so  I  see  that  I  should 
not  have  hurt  his  feelings  at  all." 

"Late,  same  night.  —  To-night  I  visited  the  Union 
League,  and  was  served  a  delightful  Chinese  din- 
ner with  wines  and  tea  from  Canton.  It  was  the 
best  that  my  stomach  has  received  since  leaving 
home. 


206       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

"A  great  number  of  prominent  people  were  there. 
I  have  a  complete  list,  and  will  preserve  it.  But  a 
few  I  will  mention  now:  the  Honourable  Governor 
of  the  State,  who  was  also  a  General  in  the  great 
Civil  War;  Mr.  Wanamaker,  the  foremost  merchant 
of  the  United  States,  besides  several  leading  editors 
and  writers,  among  them  Mr.  Smith." 

^^ Next  morning.  —  General  Hastings,  the  Gover- 
nor of  this  great  State,  called  upon  me  this  morning 
to  bid  me  adieu,  and  to  present  one  or  two  young 
ladies  and  several  members  of  his  staff.  I  gave  the 
Governor  a  strong  invitation  to  visit  me  in  China, 
and  I  told  him  that  if  he  would  come  and  spend  a 
half  a  year  in  the  quiet  of  my  home  in  Peking,  I 
would  make  him  so  pleased  and  comfortable  that  he 
would  not  ever  want  to  return  to  the  noise  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He  thanked  me  cordially,  and  said  he 
would  give  the  matter  careful  thought.  General 
Stewart,  who  was  with  the  Governor,  asked  me  if  I 
could  not  make  him  the  head  of  my  provincial  army. 
He  said  he  loved  to  fight.  'In  that  case.  General,' 
I  said  to  him,  'we  do  not  want  you,  for  armies  that 
are  always  looking  for  battle  usually  get  more  than 
they  bargain  for.' 

"I  am  sure  that  Governor  Hastings  is  by  far  the 
handsomest  man  I  have  seen  in  all  these  Western 
countries.  He  ought  to  hold  the  position  of  emperor 
or  king,  or  at  least  be  duke  of  a  duchy.  It  was  a  pity 
that  he  did  not  appear  in  uniform,  for  he  is  a  born 


WHAT  HE  SAW  IN  AMERICA  207 

general-in-chief  in  appearance,  and  of  most  com- 
manding presence. 

"When  the  Governor  stood  near  me  I  was  not  so 
large  as  before,  for  I  had  to  look  up  at  a  slant  into 
his  eyes.  I  asked  him  how  tall  he  was,  and  what  he 
weighed  without  his  clothes  on,  and  he  told  me;  but 
I  have  forgotten  the  figures  just  now.  At  any  rate 
at  the  Union  League  we  stood  back  to  back,  and  he 
was  an  inch  and  two  thirds  taller  than  myself. 
Together  we  were  the  biggest  pair  of  men  in  the  club. 

"I  had  several  delicious  American  drinks  called 
'cocktails,'  and  I  asked  Salang  to  find  out  just  what 
ingredients  were  used,  and  how  they  were  made. 
There  was  just  enough  spice  and  sweetness  to  them 
to  suit  my  taste,  and  I  do  not  think  they  would  hurt 
me  if  taken  not  too  frequently. 

"I  feel  that  I  shall  sleep  most  calmly  to-night." 

After  the  above  no  entry  appears  to  have  been 
made  for  a  week  or  ten  days ;  for  as  Western  dates 
or  places  are  seldom  given,  and  Chinese  dates,  when 
used,  appear  to  be  the  markings  of  time  in  a  num- 
ber of  different  epochs,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
know  with  any  degree  of  certainty  where  the  follow- 
ing lines  were  written;  but,  presumably,  from  the 
general  tone,  they  were  written  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains :  — 

"After  three  days  on  the  train. — Again  I  must 
think  of  Russia  with  its  vast  plains  and  heaven- 
reaching  mountains.  But  here  the  parallel  of  thought 


208        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

must  end;  for  with  Russia  all  the  wild  and  newer 
country  is  far  to  the  east,  while  in  the  United 
States  it  is  the  west  that  is  widespreading  and  new. 
Yet  I  must  not  be  misunderstood,  nor  must  I  leave 
in  my  records  statements  that  I  myself  will  take 
wrongly  in  the  times  to  come  when  facts,  figures, 
and  impressions  are  not  as  plain  as  they  are  to-day. 

"In  this  wonderful  Western  empire  of  the  Ameri- 
can Union  there  is  the  same  spirit  of  enterprise  and 
business,  with  all  modern  progress,  that  there  is 
along  the  seaboard  of  the  Atlantic.  And  to  think 
that  fifty  years  ago  there  was  not  a  settlement  of 
stationary  people  in  the  hundreds  of  miles  we  have 
been  travelling  since  we  left  the  great  river  of 
America,  the  Mississippi. 

"Can  it  be  true?  Can  it  be  that  all  these  changes 
have  taken  place  since  I  took  my  examinations  for 
the  Han-lin?  It  must  be,  for  I  have  heard  it  from 
every  one,  and  a  whole  nation  cannot  lie. 

"For  hours  and  hours  we  travel,  and  see  nothing 
but  great  ranches  with  cattle,  or  vast  stretches  of 
country  without  a  living  man  or  woman  or  fowl. 
Then  there  will  be  a  small  town,  then  another,  then 
another;  until  finally  the  train  rushes  through  the 
outskirts  of  a  big  city,  and  into  a  station  that  makes 
one  think  again  of  New  York,  Chicago,  or  London. 
And  there  are  high  buildings  everywhere,  so  high 
that  men  look  like  children  when  seen  from  their 
roofs.  Heaven  help  this  country  whenever  an  earth- 
quake comes! 


WHAT  HE  SAW   IN  AMERICA  209 

"I  cannot  see,  in  spite  of  the  explanations  that 
have  been  made  to  me,  what  is  gained  by  having 
these  structures  built  up  so  that  they  almost  stop 
the  clouds  going  by.  Yes,  I  can  see  in  New  York, 
for  New  York  is  built  upon  an  island,  and  the 
shippers  and  others  do  not  want  to  go  across  rivers 
and  bays  to  do  their  business.  The  city  becomes 
crowded,  and  land  is  so  valuable  that  those  who 
own  it  send  their  edifices  up  into  the  air,  which  is 
free  to  use  as  high  as  they  want  to  go.  Yes,  I  can 
understand  New  York's  'cloud-stoppers';  but  I 
cannot  understand  why  these  Western  cities,  with 
cheap  land  for  hundreds  of  miles  in  all  directions, 
will  try  to  see  how  many  great  buildings  they  can 
crowd  together  in  one  place.  Still,  I  suppose  if  I 
should  write  a  whole  volume,  and  make  a  present  of 
it  for  circulation  among  the  business  men  of  these 
cities,  they  would  not  even  thank  me  for  my  med- 
dling. Anyway,  it  is  none  of  my  concern;  and,  be- 
sides, I  do  not  expect  to  see  the  places  again. 

"I  care  nothing  for  mere  places,  unless  there  is 
some  charm  of  the  mind  or  heart  to  draw  and  hold 
me.  And  no  place  because  of  itself  can  have  a  claim 
upon  my  affections.  There  must  be  some  human  or 
ancestral  association  connected  with  a  place  if  I  am 
to  think  about  it,  or  dream  about  it,  or  write 
about  it. 

"  Moscow  as  Moscow  is  nothing  to  me;  but  as  the 
place  where  I  witnessed  such  overpowering  cere- 
monials, where   I   saw  the  Czarina,  and  where  I 


210        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

presented  to  her  the  Sacred  Ring,  sent  by  the  illus- 
trious and  ever  virtuous  Empress  Dowager,  it  is  a 
place  enshrined  deep  in  my  heart. 

"And  so  with  Essen  —  I  hate  its  smoke  and  heat, 
but  I  love  Essen  because  of  Herr  Krupp,  and  admire 
Essen  because  of  her  cannons. 

"And  so  with  Hawarden. 

"And  so  with  Philadelphia  and  Washington  and 
Mt.  Vernon. 

' '  And  so  with  home  —  where  our  loved  ones  are ! 
'T  was  an  American  that  wrote  a  great  sweet  song 
of  home.  I  know  the  air,  for  I  heard  the  bands  play 
it  on  the  warships  when  I  was  a  young  man,  but  I 
do  not  know  the  words  as  they  were  written.  How- 
ever, the  words  are  in  the  heart  of  each  human 
being  —  just  as  the  dong-dong-dong  of  the  Old 
Liberty  Bell  at  Philadelphia  is  in  the  national  hearts 
of  all  men,  before  those  hearts  are  turned  to  some- 
thing else  by  pride  or  selfishness  or  greed  of  gain  and 
power." 

The  great  Viceroy  wrote  but  little  more  of  his 
memoirs  while  on  American  soil.  What  he  did  write 
was  by  way  of  advice  to  his  countrymen  in  the  United 
States,  that  they  should  obey  the  laws  faithfully, 
and  live  in  peace  and  concord  with  the  people  about 
them,  save  their  money,  and  eventually  return  to 
the  land  of  their  ancestors. 

His  last  paragraphs,  written  at  San  Francisco,  the 
day  before  his  sailing  for  China,  are  as  follows:  — 


WHAT   HE   SAW   IN   AMERICA  211 

"To-day  my  friends  took  me  far  out  toward  the 
Golden  Gate,  and  gave  me  my  first  view  of  the 
broad  Pacific  from  this  side  of  the  world. 

"I  could  not  believe  it  was  so  many  thousand 
miles  across.  For  as  I  stood  there  upon  those  high 
cliffs  at  one  side  of  the  narrow  entrance  to  the  great 
bay  of  San  Francisco,  I  strained  my  tired  eyes  across 
the  waters,  and  I  thought  I  could  see  in  the  beautiful 
distance  the  holy  mirage  of  my  native  land.  Those 
about  me  talked  and  pointed;  but  I  heeded  them 
not  —  for  my  very  soul  was  reaching  out  to  the  souls 
of  China.  I  saw  the  Throne,  and  I  bowed  my  knee 
to  Their  Illustrious  Majesties.  I  saw  Tientsin  and 
Canton  and  Hankow  —  all  places  I  love  and  shall 
ever  love. 

"Returning  to  my  apartments,  I  had  nothing 
more  to  say.  I  have  seen  the  world  in  these  months. 
Now  all  I  ask  is  the  supreme  joy  of  kissing  the 
earth  of  my  native  land." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SHORT   NOTES   FROM   HIS   DIARY 

'^  July  10,  1899.  —  The  Empress  Dowager  calls,  with 
an  attempt  at  humour,  the  T'wan-Hen  [provincial 
miUtia]  a  'tiger  ride,'  because  it  has  got  into  the 
control  of  the  Great  Sword  Society.  Perhaps  Her 
Majesty  will  yet  learn  that  such  animals  and  such 
riders,  when  half  encouraged,  devour  their  friends 
as  well  as  their  enemies." 

^^  Nanking,  1869.  —  All  foreigners  regard  China  in 
the  light  of  a  yellow  corpse,  buried  by  itself,  and 
never  to  awaken  without  the  white  devil's  medicines. 
When  they  are  looking  upon  China  these  foreigners 
all  use  the  same  spectacles;  yet  at  home  they  fight 
among  themselves,  and  have  more  bitter  hatreds 
against  each  other  than  they  have  against  us.  The 
French  hate  the  Germans,  and  the  Russians  kill  the 
Jews,  but  they  are  all  Christians  when  they  come  to 
China." 

'^Peking,  1900.  —  How  idle  is  much  of  this  talk 
that  we  hear  about  overthrowing  the  Dynasty,  and 
substituting  a  Chinese  family  to  reign  in  place  of  the 
Manchus!  Everyone  knows,  including  myself,  that 
there  is  no  Chinese  family  sufficiently  respected  to 
rule  this  country  in  peace  and  order." 


SHORT  NOTES  FROM   HIS   DIARY      213 

(Without  date.)  —  "Kang  Yu-wei  is  sometimes  a 
patriotic  official,  sometimes  a  foolish  meddler,  and 
oftentimes  a  brainless  ass." 

" Suchau,  August,  1864.  —  If  the  Taipings  had  a 
little  generalship  to  go  along  with  their  wild  fanati- 
cism, they  would  have  marched  north  and  driven 
the  Imperial  family  from  Peking,  For  some  time  it 
appeared  as  if  the  new  so-called  Emperor  Tien-teh 
[Hung  Siu-tsuen]  would  really  establish  a  dynasty, 
and  rule  the  whole  Middle  Kingdom.  But  he  was 
only  an  impostor  in  religious  matters,  a  fakir  among 
the  people,  and  in  no  sense  a  military  leader.  It  is 
true  that  he  had  a  number  of  brilliant  lieutenants 
among  the  Wangs;  but  these  men,  even,  came  under 
his  unholy  spell,  and  were  handicapped  in  their 
plans  and  movements." 

"December,  1898.  — Whenever  there  is  trouble  I 
am  sent  as  a  doctor,  yet  whether  the  patient  dies  or 
gets  suddenly  well  I  receive  no  credit,  but  always 
blame.  Whether  it  is  the  seizing  of  Kiao-chow  by 
the  Germans,  the  demanding  of  Wei-hai-wei  by  the 
British,  or  the  bursting  of  the  Yellow  River  banks, 
I  am  always  the  physician  in  attendance;  but, 
instead  of  collecting  a  fee,  I  am  usually  subject  to  a 
fine  for  my  trouble  and  skill. 

"And  now  with  the  present  affair  in  Shantung, 
Chang  Ju-mei  [the  Governor]  and  myself  receive  all 
the  blame,  and  are  denounced  on  all  hands.  Of  course 


214       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

the  excuse  for  this  is  that  we  have  not  dealt  properly 
with  the  finances  of  the  river  improvements,  but  the 
real  reason  is  that  Chang  Ju-mei  and  myself  are 
unutterably  opposed  to  the  Big  Swords  being  allowed 
to  meet  and  organise.  They  mean  nothing  good  but 
much  harm,  yet  the  Government  will  not  consent  to 
their  suppression.  For  his  share  in  combating  their 
growth  Governor  Chang  has  lost  his  position,  and  the 
hot-headed  Yu  Hsien,  Treasurer  of  the  Hu-nan  and 
Tartar  General  at  Nanking,  has  been  sent  in  his 
place.  Now  this  very  appointment  indicates  just 
how  the  Court  feels  toward  these  organised  ruffians 
who  called  themselves  patriots  and  defenders  of  the 
State,  for  Yu  Hsien  is  one  of  the  most  bigoted  of 
officials,  and  has  in  the  past  allowed  battles  to  be 
fought  against  the  missionaries  and  converts,  espe- 
cially the  Roman  Catholics.  Perhaps  our  Govern- 
ment is  willing  that  more  parts  of  the  empire  be 
grabbed  by  foreign  nations  on  account  of  these 
fellows." 

In  1886  the  Viceroy  first  mentions  Yuan  Shih-k'ai: 
"Yuan  Shih-k'ai  is  one  of  the  bravest  of  our  men, 
and  an  excellent  soldier.  In  1884  he  was  not  afraid  to 
stand  up  to  the  Japanese  in  Korea,  and  it  is  regret- 
table that  he  did  not  have  a  large  force  under  his 
command.  Had  he  been  possessed  of  two  or  three 
army  corps,  the  story  of  the  war  I  believe  would 
have  been  very  different.  He  is  a  great  admirer  of 
the  Germans,  especially  of  their  military  system. 


SHORT   NOTES   FROM   HIS   DIARY      215 

Of  course  this  is  natural,  for  many  of  his  troops 
were  German  trained,  and  he  did  not  leave  them 
behind  when  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  Shan- 
tung." 

^'Peking,  October  20,  1900.  —  To-day  I  had  a  long 
conference  with  Sir  Claude  Macdonald,  one  of  the 
brightest  and  best  diplomats  Great  Britain  has  ever 
sent  to  China.  Sir  Claude  and  myself  have  always 
been  on  the  closest  of  terms,  and  are  true  personal 
friends,  although  at  times  we  do  not  admire  each 
other  in  foreign  office  affairs.  The  same  could  be  said 
of  Sir  Nicholas  O'Conor,  the  diplomat  who  could 
make  more  friends  for  England  than  any  minister 
I  ever  knew." 

(Without  date.)  —  ''It  is  indeed  a  good  thing  for 
the  country  that  Prince  Ching  held  back  his  Manchu 
troops  during  the  siege  of  the  Legations.  I  saw  him 
to-day,  and  we  have  become  better  friends  than  ever 
before.  He  told  me  that  during  July  Prince  Tuan 
kept  urging  him  to  make  an  attack,  insanely  telling 
him  that  if  the  Ministers  and  their  friends  were  once 
slaughtered  to  the  last  person  the  Powers  would 
never  dare  to  send  representatives  to  China  again. 
Oh,  what  an  insane  and  contemptible  idea!  Ching 
knew,  as  he  said,  that  such  an  act  would  be  unfor- 
givable by  the  Powers,  and  that  if  necessary  a 
million  men  would  be  sent  to  China  to  compel 
reparation  and  seek  revenge.  Ching  declares  also 
that  it  was  all  he  could  do  to  keep  his  troops  in 


2i6       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

check,  for  the  ferocious  spirit  of  the  Boxers  had 
entered  the  hearts  of  officers  and  men,  and  all  of 
them  thirsted  for  the  blood  of  the  foreigners  and 
native  converts. 

"After  my  talk  with  Prince  Ching  I  called  at  the 
American  Legation,  and  had  a  good  visit  with  my 
friend  Major  Conger.  I  told  him  what  I  had  learned 
from  Prince  Ching,  without  that  black  part  relating 
to  Tuan ;  and  he  said  that  he  knew  that  the  foreign- 
ers who  lived  through  the  terrible  eight  weeks  of  the 
siege  could  and  did  thank  Prince  Ching  that  they 
were  alive  when  the  allies  came  to  the  relief. 

"As  it  was,  China  was  disgraced  in  the  eyes  of 
civilisation,  and  the  whole  nation  was  humiliated 
and  scorned;  but  if  Ching  had  been  a  weaker  man, 
and  had  given  way  either  to  the  commands  or  the 
importunities  of  the  Empress  Dowager  and  Prince 
Tuan,  that  surrender  on  his  part  would  have  been 
the  vital  step  in  the  obliteration  of  the  Chinese 
Empire  from  the  political  map  of  the  world.  I  hated 
Ching  for  the  words  he  uttered  when  I  went  to 
Japan,  but  I  have  forgiven  him  with  all  my  heart, 
and  gladly  bow  to  him  as  the  saviour  of  his  country." 

(Without    date.)  —  "I    have    written  that 

during  my  many  years'  experience  with  foreigners 
in  the  conduct  of  business  I  have  become  thoroughly 
familiar  with  their  characters,  and  I  have  found  that, 
no  matter  what  they  are  engaged  in,  they  act  hon- 
ourably, without  deceit  or  falsehood." 


SHORT  NOTES  FROM   HIS   DIARY      217 

''April,  1898.  —  It  does  not  matter  what  my 
enemies  may  accuse  me  of;  in  all  my  life  I  have  been 
on  the  side  of  law  and  order,  and  I  have  never 
enquired  whether  those  twin  institutions  were  white 
or  yellow.  Decency  is  like  gold,  the  same  in  all 
countries." 

''June  II,  1887.  —  England  has  ever  asserted  that 
in  all  my  diplomatic  work  I  have  had  Russia's  inter- 
ests constantly  in  view.  England  is  very  wrong,  just 
as  she  has  been  many  times  before  in  other  matters. 
If  I  have  appeared  to  work  for  Russia's  interest,  it  is 
because  in  so  doing  I  have  believed  that  I  was  accom- 
plishing the  greatest  good  for  China.  The  British 
Foreign  Office  caused  me  to  be  berated  officially  and 
through  the  Press  over  the  Manchurian  agreement 
with  the  Czar's  Government;  but  the  British  refused 
to  say  that  they  would  help  us  in  the  slightest  during 
our  Japanese  conflict  or  after;  while  Russia,  at  the 
close  of  the  war  at  least,  let  Japan  understand  that 
China  was  not  alone." 

(Without  date.)  —  "Bishop  Favier,  if  I  am  ever 
the  sovereign  of  a  nation,  and  you  are  without  a 
position  —  though  men  of  your  calibre  are  rare  — 
I  will  offer  you  the  place  of  generalissimo  of  the 
forces!  You  are  a  noble  soldier,  Favier,  and  you 
saved  the  lives  of  your  little  army.  I  hope  the  head 
of  your  sect  [the  Pope]  will  make  of  you  the  head  of 
the  Church." 


2i8        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

The  Viceroy  alludes  to  the  remarkable  and  heroic 
defence  of  the  new  French  Cathedral  made  by 
Bishop  Favier  with  a  few  French,  Belgian,  and 
German  marines,  and  his  three  thousand  converts. 
Though  attacked  for  days  and  nights  at  a  time,  the 
Bishop  and  his  band  nobly  defended  their  position, 
inflicting  great  loss  upon  the  Boxer  hordes  which 
assailed  the  church. 

"  Written  in  Canton,  in  early  March,  1900.  — 
There  can  be  little  doubt  but  the  southern  viceroys 
have  received  orders  to  be  prepared  to  despatch 
all  foreigners.  Who  is  responsible  for  such  dastardly 
commands?  How  well  the  authors  knew  better  than 
to  send  such  outrageous  documents  to  me!" 

(Without  date.)  —  "Foreign  Governments  say 
they  lease  our  lands.  We  know  they  are  gone  for- 
ever." 

(Without  date.)  —  "Sometimes  the  pretensions 
of  these  '  learned  men '  from  the  West  anger  me,  at 
other  times  I  feel  sorry  for  them,  and  now  very  often 
I  sit  down  and  laugh  at  them  until  my  dinner  is  all 
upside-down!  To-day  I  was  talking  with  a  'Pro- 
fessor,' who  came  all  the  way  from  Massachusetts  to 
teach  in  the  new  University,  and  he  was  telling  me 
that  he  should  be  lost  until  his  books  arrived. 

"'I  have  eighteen  large  volumes  that  I  use  in  my 
work,'  he  said;  'books  of  science,  art,  ethics,  and 
lexicography.' 


SHORT   NOTES   FROM   HIS   DIARY      219 

"'Eighteen?'  I  asked.    'Do  you  need  them  all?* 

" 'Oh,  yes;  but  they  cover  the  whole  range  of  my 
work.' 

"I  did  not  like  to  smile  in  his  face,  but  I  could 
not  help  it.  He  asked  me  the  reason  for  my  apparent 
merriment. 

" '  I  was  only  thinking  of  how  much  more  exhaus- 
tive your  Western  wisdom  must  be  than  ours,'  I 
replied.  Then  I  told  him  that  King  He,  our  literary 
Emperor,  had  compiled  and  issued  the  Pei  Wan  Yun 
Fu  [Dictionary]  in  1 7 1 1 ,  and  that  it  consisted  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  volumes!" 

(Without  date.)  —  "How  splendid  a  thing  it 
would  be  if  our  ancient  motto  '  King  sik  tsze  chil  * 
[Reverence  the  written  word  and  keep  it  holy]  could 
be  hung  conspicuously  on  the  walls  of  the  various 
foreign  offices!" 


CHAPTER  XV 

HIS   TASK   IN   THE    BOXER   CRISIS 

According  to  his  memoirs,  Li  Hung  Chang,  then 
Governor  of  the  two  Kwang  provinces,  foresaw  in 
the  early  part  of  1900  that  China  would  shortly  be 
embroiled  with  foreign  nations  over  the  Boxers,  or 
Great  Sword  Society,  who  were  becoming  aggres- 
sive in  the  north.  In  February  of  that  year  this 
entry  is  found  in  his  diary:  — 

"For  the  third  time  I  have  memorialised  the 
Throne  to  trample  under  foot  the  I-h  o-k'uan 
[Patriotic  Peace  Fists],  but  as  no  action  was  taken 
upon  my  former  memorials  to  put  an  end  to  this 
organisation  of  ruffians  and  hard-hitters,  I  expect 
but  little  attention  will  be  paid  to  my  later  petition. 
"^I  have  tried  time  and  again,  almost  without  number, 
to  impress  the  Throne  with  the  idea  that  China  has 
nothing  to  gain  and  everything  to  lose  by  opposing 
the  so-called  foreign  devil§>  It  would  be  utterly  im- 
possible to  drive  them  out;  and  last,  but  most  im- 
portant, our  country  would  be  poorer  in  many  ways 
if  the  foreigners  ever  withdrew,  willingly  or  otherwise. 

"  During  my  last  days  at  the  capital  I  made  every 
effort  to  impress  the  truth  of  these  views  upon  the 
Court.  The  Empress  is  apparently  in  sympathy 
with  these  sentiments,  and  Jung-lu  [one  of  the  most 
influential  and  intimate  counsellors  of  the  Dowager] 


HIS  TASK   IN  THE   BOXER   CRISIS     221 

IS  really  a  strong  and  abiding  friend  of  the  Christians. 
But  Prince  Tuan  secretly  favours  the  Patriotic 
Peace  Fists  —  as  I  am  personally  aware  —  and  will 
use  every  means  he  can  to  persuade  Their  Majesties 
that  the  society  can  exterminate  the  foreigners  if  it 
is  not  interfered  with.  Tuan  has  a  powerful  follow- 
ing; but  I  fear  most  of  all  that  Tze  Hsi  believes  what 
he  says,  and  secretly  favours  the  Great  Swords." 

In  April,  1900,  the  Viceroy  makes  this  observa- 
tion :  — 

"I  have  received  from  the  Throne  the  following 
letter,  which  I  am  candid  enough  to  believe  is  but  for 
effect  abroad :  *  The  establishment  by  the  rural  popu- 
lation in  each  province  of  militia  for  their  own  pro- 
tection, and  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives  and 
families,  is  at  bottom  simply  the  good  old  ancestral 
practice  of  keeping  a  lookout  and  lending  mutual 
assistance;  and  so  long  as  those  concerned  mind 
their  own  business,  there  is  no  reason  why  they 
should  be  interfered  with.  All  that  is  to  be  feared  is 
that  amongst  such  persons  the  good  and  bad  may 
get  mixed,  and  that  pretexts  may  be  taken  to  raise 
trouble  with  native  Christians.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  Sovereign  regards  all  with  equal 
benevolence,  without  distinction  of  territorial  divi- 
sion, for  which  reason  the  populations  concerned 
should  obey  the  spirit  of  this  idea,  and  refrain  from 
giving  vent  to  their  private  resentments,  in  such  wise 
as  to  cause  hostility  and  render  themselves  liable  to 


222        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

punishment.  Let  us  tell  Your  Excellency  that  we 
expect  the  governors-general  and  governors  con- 
cerned to  give  strict  directions  to  local  authorities, 
to  issue  plain-speaking  proclamations  as  occasion 
may  require,  calling  upon  all  persons  to  attend  to 
their  own  affairs,  and  always  to  keep  on  peaceful 
terms  with  others,  not  ignoring  the  spirit  of  these 
earnest  exhortations.'" 

The  Viceroy  comments:  "This  is  all  nonsense; 
it  means  nothing  right.  I  know  the  country  will  now 
get  into  trouble  over  these  ruffians.  But  they  are 
not  numerous  in  my  provinces,  and  dare  not  show 
their  heads." 

He  writes  (supposedly  in  May,  1900):  — 
"Hurried  telegrams  from  the  Throne  have  come 
to  me,  urging  that  I  suppress  any  lawlessness  in  my 
territory.  This  angers  me,  for  it  is  but  a  blind  and 
subterfuge.  There  is  no  lawlessness  here !  and  there 
will  be  none! 

"  I  have  sent  messages  every  day  of  late  to  Jung-lu, 
urging  him  to  employ  all  means  in  his  power  to  win 
the  Empress  Dowager  strongly  over  to  the  side  of  the 
foreigners.  She  is  wavering,  for  she  wants  to  believe 
what  both  of  her  strongest  admirers  say ;  while  these 
two  men  [Jung-lu  and  Prince  Tuan]  are  on  diamet- 
rically opposite  sides." 

"Oh,  I  am  sorry  for  China!   If  the  Legations  are 


HIS  TASK  IN  THE  BOXER  CRISIS     223 

disturbed,  the  foreign  nations  will  march  through 
the  land  with  fire  and  sword.  Even  the  United  States, 
our  friend  heretofore,  will  send  her  armies  and  fleets 
against  us." 

"Later  [without  date].  —  The  final  blow  has  been 
struck  by  these  wretches  of  the  Patriotic  Peace  Fists, 
with  the  killing  of  the  German  Minister,  Von  Kette- 
ler,  whom  I  knew  and  whom  I  first  met  in  Germany. 
What  will  become  of  China  now?  Still,  Heaven  is 
aware  that  I  have  urged  and  urged  against  the 
bandits  until  I  am  weary!  Prince  Tuan,  who  was 
born  a  hater  of  the  Christians,  and  has  grown  more 
hateful  with  his  years,  has  probably  convinced  the 
Throne  that  if  the  Boxers  are  not  interfered  with 
they  will  clean  the  land  of  all  foreigners.  What  hell- 
ish rubbish!  His  ignorance  must  be  paid  for  by  his 
country." 

Though  it  is  evident  that  Li  was  deeply  aroused 
over  the  troubles  at  the  north,  he  seems  to  have  been 
sufficiently  at  peace  with  himself  to  conduct  an 
ancient  ceremony  at  Canton,  for  the  next  entry  in 
his  notes  reads :  — 

"To-day  we  performed  the  full  ceremony  of  the 
Tilling  of  the  Soil.  All  my  officials  and  myself,  in 
full  court  dress,  went  by  chair  to  the  Temple  of  Shen 
Nung,  beyond  the  East  Gate,  and  performed  our 
obligations.  The  great  and  illustrious  Shen  Nung  is 
the  Divine  Husbandman  who  reigned  4700  years 


224       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

ago.  It  was  he  who  invented  agriculture,  and  to  him 
the  world  owes  the  most  sublime  reverence  and 
respect." 

Some  time  later  he  writes:  "It  is  as  I  expected: 
there  is  war  in  the  north,  and  Tuan  has  treacher- 
ously persuaded  the  Throne  to  let  the  Imperial 
troops  join  with  the  Boxers  in  an  attempt  to  exter- 
minate the  foreigners.  M^Jieart-is  sick  —  I  wash 
my  hands  of  the  whole  affair." 

He  next  writes  at  Tientsin  (presumably  late  in 
August):  "Here  I  am  once  more  in  the  same  old 
house  I  occupied  for  so  long,  and  where  I  spent  so 
many  happy  days  and  nights  —  and  unhappy  ones, 
too,  I  may  add;  for  to  be  Viceroy  of  Chihli,  and 
Grand  Secretary  at  the  same  time,  brought  many 
cares  and  troubles  to  my  mind.  Yet  all  the  difficul- 
ties were  surmounted  and  many  good  things  accom- 
plished; therefore,  as  the  sum  total,  I  was  happy  and 
satisfied. 

"Now,  my  great  task  —  perhaps  the  last  great 
task  of  my  career  —  is  to  save  China.  Their  Majes- 
ties are  in  temporary  exile,  and  the  foreigners  are 
in  control  of  the  Capital.  I  am  glad  to  think  that 
many  of  the  miscreants  who  got  our  country  into 
this  terrible  fix  are  themselves  in  trouble,  and  will 
be  brought  to  book.  I  do  not  glory  in  the  death  of 
any  man,  but  there  are  some  heads  I  shall  be  glad 
to  see  chopped  off.  One  man  in  particular  [the  Vice- 


HIS  TASK  IN  THE  BOXER  CRISIS     225 

roy  refers  undoubtedly  to  Prince  Tuan]  deserves 
fully,  if  any  man  ever  did,  the  ling-chi  [the  death  of 
a  thousand  cuts].  I  hope  it  will  be  the  reward  of  his 
damnable  meddling. 

"All  the  foreign  nations  are  against  us,  it  would 
seem.  No,  there  is  an  exception,  and  the  exception 
may  prove  our  salvation  from  being  sliced  up  like  a 
water-melon.  The  Americans  are,  of  course,  acting 
with  France,  Russia,  England,  Germany,  and  Japan, 
but  at  the  same  time  I  have  received  assurances  from 
the  American  commander  and  from  the  Washington 
Government   that   the   United  States  will   oppose  ^  ,  / 

morally  and  physically,  if  necessary,  the  partition,^\U^*>^  ■ 
of  China. 

"My  greatest  fear  now  is  from  the  Germans  and 
Russians.  The  Germans,  because  of  the  death  of 
their  Minister,  are  despatching  regiments  every  day 
for  China,  and  are  sending  one  of  their  greatest 
field  marshals  to  command  their  troops.  If  they 
establish  a  big  army  in  the  Capital,  and  demand  an 
indemnity  such  as  they  did  of  the  French,  and  stay 
until  it  is  paid,  I  fear  they  will  never  leave  us.  The 
Russians,  too,  have  a  tremendous  force  in  Man- 
churia, and  along  the  Siberian  Railway;  and  if  there 
is  an  agreement  between  them  it  may  take  more 
than  a  combination  of  the  other  Powers  to  make 
them  relent.  My  hope,  however,  is  centred  in  the 
attitude  of  the  United  States." 

^^ Later,  same.  —  Cable  despatches  from  our  Min- 


226       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

ister  at  Washington  are  reassuring.  Tlie  American 
Government  is  confident  that  its  note  to  the  other 
Powers,  proposing  a  joint  indemnity  to  be  agreed 
upon  by  myself,  acting  for  China,  and  the  foreign 
representatives,  will  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
foreign  offices.   Good!" 

^'October  12,  Peking.  —  I  have  learned  from  a 
source  that  is  beyond  questioning  that  the  Powers 
had  determined  immediately  after  the  capture  of 
the  city  to  make  a  division  of  China  between  them. 
Yet  it  seems  that,  like  so  many  dogs  over  the  carcass 
of  a  beast,  they  could  not  agree  upon  their  respective 
shares.  It  was  determined  that  the  European 
nations  and  Japan  should  act  in  concert,  ignoring 
the  United  States.  This,  however,  was  not  found 
to  be  feasible,  for  first  England,  and  then  Japan, 
weakened.  The  trouble  is  that  Japan  wanted  that 
part  of  China  as  her  sphere  of  influence  which  Russia 
claimed  as  her  own.  Perhaps  amidst  the  quarrelling 
of  the  wolves  the  sheep  will  get  away." 

^'October  15.  —  I  visited  the  Russian  Legation 
to-day,  and  had  a  meeting  with  the  foreign  ministers. 
The  position  taken  in  this  matter  by  the  American 
nation  means  the  integrity  of  China.  The  United 
States  has  won  over  the  other  Powers  to  her  way  of 
thinking.  Thanks  be  to  the  spirits  of  our  fathers, 
our  country  may  yet  be  saved  from  slicing.  But 
the  indemnity  will  be  great.    Yet  our  country  will 


HIS  TASK   IN   THE   BOXER   CRISIS     227 

be  left  to  us,  and  we  can  pay  it.  Japan,  for  an  old 
enemy,  is  acting  most  fair,  and  it  is  my  belief  that 
there  is  a  perfect  understanding  between  Tokio  and 
Washington." 

^^ Peking,  at  U.S.  Legation,  October  19. — To-day 
I  received  an  American  newspaper  man,  and  gave 
him  a  lengthy  interview.  I  should  not  have  talked  at 
all  with  him,  but  for  two  things:  his  paper,  which 
is  one  of  great  influence  at  Washington,  has  been 
China's  advocate  in  all  this  miserable  affair;  and, 
secondly,  he  told  me  that  he  tried  to  get  an  interview 
with  me  at  the  Philadelphia  junction  [Germantown], 
but  failed.  So  I  made  it  up  with  him,  and  sent  the 
thanks  of  China  and  myself  to  those  fair-dealing 
people  who  live  in  the  land  of  Lincoln  and  Grant 
and  McKinley." 

The  American  newspaper  man  referred  to  In  this 
paragraph  of  the  Viceroy's  memoirs  is  the  editor  of 
the  present  work. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CALLED  TO  THE   THRONE' S   AID 

Because  of  his  well-known  tendencies  in  favour  of 
the  foreigner,  tendencies  which  made  him  a  "thorn 
in  the  flesh  "  of  the  reactionaries,  who  were  in  almost 
undisputed  control  of  the  Peking  Government,  and 
who  were  responsible  for  the  coup  d'etat  of  1898,  by 
which  the  Empress  Dowager  resumed  the  active 
throne,  and  the  young  Emperor  Kuang  Su  was  com- 
mitted to  a  palace  prison,  it  was  desired  by  those  in 
power  that  Li  Hung  Chang  be  induced  to  quit  the 
Capital;  and  so,  late  in  1899,  he  was  sent  for  by  Hze 
Tsi,  and  asked  to  name  what  office  outside  the 
Capital  he  would  consider  most  to  his  liking. 

He  wrote  on  December  12,  at  two  o'clock  a.m.  :  — 
"Within  the  hour  I  have  returned  from  an  unpub- 
lished audience  with  old  Buddha  [the  Empress 
Dowager],  and  I  am  ill  at  ease,  for  Her  Majesty 
intended  that  I  should  go  south,  intimating  that 
affairs  were  such  in  that  quarter  that  I  was  needed 
there.  I  did  not  dare  tell  her  so  outright,  but  all 
this  is  the  merest  subterfuge,  for  while  I  may  count 
my  best  friends  right  here  in  Peking,  these  very 
people  are  desirous  that  I  be  away  in  case  of  serious 
disturbances.  Serious  disturbances !  Indeed,  if  there 
are  such  they  will  be  of  their  own   making  and 


CALLED  TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      229 

desiring  —  and  against  wishes  of  mine  which  are 
well  understood. 

"I  am  an  aged  man  now,  nearing  my  seventy- 
seventh  year,  and  perhaps  they  think  my  mental 
vision  is  dimmed  so  that  I  cannot  see  the  real  trend 
of  affairs.  It  is  known  to  the  Court,  and  to  the 
Grand  Council,  and  to  all  who  are  conversant  with 
my  life  that  I  am  not  seeking  active  office  at  this 
time.  No  one  is  better  aware  of  this  than  Her 
Majesty,  yet  she  pretends  to  think  she  would  be 
honouring  me  further  by  sending  me  south. 

"However,  I  will  utter  no  further  protest  against 
this  wicked  policy,  which,  if  pursued  to  its  logical 
conclusion,  can  have  but  one  end:  the  disastrous 
wrecking  of  the  country  and  the  humiliation  of  the 
Throne,  if  not  the  complete  abolition  of  the  Dynasty. 
I  shall  make  a  final  appeal  to  Jung-lu,  to  Yuan 
Shih-k'ai,  and  even  to  the  impetuous  and  calamity- 
seeking  Prince  Tuan.  If  this  is  without  the  desired 
effect,  once  more  on  my  old  knees  I  will  ask  Her 
Majesty,  for  the  good  of  herself  and  her  people,  to 
drive  the  Boxer  influence  from  the  palace.  But  I 
fear  Tuan  has  her  ear,  and  that  she  is  already  con- 
vinced that  all  the  foreigners  will  be  driven  into  the 
ocean.  Oh,  if  these  great  personages  could  have  but 
seen  the  armies  and  navies  I  saw,  and  the  giant 
strength  of  Europe  and  America,  they  would  no  more 
dream  as  children!" 

The  memoirs  of  the  aged  Viceroy  do  not  disclose 


230       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

whether  he  ever  made  these  final  appeals  to  the 
Powers  within  the  Forbidden  City,  to  the  end  that 
the  complications  he  so  plainly  saw  might  be  averted, 
nor  do  the  official  records  indicate  that  he  memorial- 
ised the  Throne  upon  this  subject.  His  diary  does 
contain,  however,  a  number  of  very  brief  references 
to  his  contemplated  departure  for  the  south,  the 
last  one  of  which  reads:  — 

"I  am  being  sent  away  from  the  trouble  which  is 
sure  to  descend  upon  this  capital,  and  I  am  bidding 
good-bye  to  many  friends  as  though  something  told 
me  I  should  not  see  them  again.  As  I  was  given  my 
choice,  I  have  chosen  the  Canton  Viceroyalty." 

''My  old  Palace,  Canton,  March  ii,  1900.  —  My 
old-time  friend  Wu  Ting  Fang  writes  me  the  most 
earnest  letter  I  have  seen  for  years,  a  communication 
full  of  wisdom  and  high  patriotism.  I  am  making 
copies  of  it,  and  will  send  them  as  fast  as  I  can  to  a 
number  of  leading  spirits  in  the  north,  hoping  that 
Dr.  Wu's  strong  and  sensible  words  will  be  followed. 
Our  excellent  Minister  knows  to  a  dot  how  the 
Government  at  Washington  feels,  and  the  general 
trend  of  American  opinion,  and  it  will  be  well  for 
Prince  Tuan  and  others  to  heed  his  warning." 

"March  17.  — A  letter  from  Bishop  Favier  says 
that  all  friends  of  enlightenment  at  the  Capital  be- 
lieve it  was  a  mistake  for  me  to  leave  it.  I  am  agree- 
able to  this  opinion,  but  this  last  mistake  is  only  one 
of  many  that  I  have  made  in  life  under  duress." 


CALLED  TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      231 

^^  March  26.  —  I  am  sorry  that  when  I  made  the 
Treaty  of  Peace  with  Japan  in  1895,  I  did  not  agree 
to  let  them  have  the  Province  of  Shantung  along 
with  the  other  concessions ;  for  then  China  would  be 
rid  of  this  turbulent  territory  where  these  fanatical 
Big  Fists  are  bred  like  rats  on  a  grain  ship.  It  was 
there  that  Yu  Hsien,  he  of  the  Manchus,  and  an 
alleged  friend  of  the  Dynasty,  put  swords  into 
their  hands  and  greater  ferocity  into  their  hearts. 
If  it  were  mine  to  say  —  as  it  is  Jung-lu's  now  —  I 
should  soon  finish  Governor  Yu  for  the  ignoble  part 
he  has  played  up  to  this  time.  I  well  know  person- 
ally the  ignorant  and  fire-eating  Yu,  and  I  would 
not  let  him  assist  in  the  carrying  of  my  chair." 

^^  March  27.  —  Reports  from  all  the  northeast 
country  indicate  that  the  Boxers  are  everywhere 
rising  and  committing  depredations.  Paoting-fu, 
Tientsin,  and  many  of  the  smaller  heins  are  threat- 
ened by  them,  and  Peking  itself  is  trembling.  I  can 
do  nothing  more.  It  shall  be  my  attempt  from  this 
time  on  to  write  much  and  sleep  more.  I  have  spent 
many  sleepless  hours  since  my  arrival  here.  But  the 
time  is  not  very  remote  when  I  shall  sleep  undis- 
turbed through  the  ages." 

^^  March  29.  — A  telegram  from  Jung-lu  says  the 
old  Buddha  is  completel3^  in  sympathy  with  the 
Boxer  movement,  but  will  not  consent  to  turn  over 
any  Government  arms  to  them.  I  credit  only  the 
first  part  of  his  despatch." 


232       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

''April  5.  —  It  is  regrettable  that  such  a  man  as 
Yuan  Shih-k'ai  should  listen  to  the  song  of  anarchy 
that  is  being  sung  by  the  Boxer  ruffians,  as  I  under- 
stand he  is  doing.  He  has  wide  experience,  and  in 
Korea  showed  himself  an  able  man  and  a  high- 
minded  patriot. 

"But  he  seems  to  be  carried  away  by  the  wild 
clamour  of  the  hour,  when  he  should  know  that  the 
foreigners,  even  the  Germans  alone,  are  able  to  lay 
waste  the  entire  kingdom  if  they  but  take  the  notion. 
He  does  not  reply  to  my  communications;  therefore 
I  shall  not  trouble  myself  to  address  him  again.  With 
Jung-lu  it  is  different;  he  will  always  write  in  answer, 
though  it  is  never  possible  to  tell  by  his  words  just 
what  he  means.  I  think  that  he  realises  the  complete 
ascendancy  of  Tuan  over  Her  Majesty,  and  is  fearful 
of  getting  himself  into  disfavour." 

"April  5.  —  It  is  now  high  time  that  the  author- 
ities patch  up  things  before  the  rain  comes,  and 
diminish  the  fuel  before  the  fire  rages." 

"April  7.  —  I  have  written  Major  Conger  that 
he  had  better  send  warning  to  the  United  States 
Government  of  approaching  trouble,  and  then  leave 
Peking  with  his  family.  I  have  the  highest  respect 
for  this  fine  diplomat,  who  is  a  most  worthy  repre- 
sentative of  a  worthy  people." 

"April   16.  —  Perhaps,   after   all,   the   Empress 


CALLED  TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      233 

Dowager  is  the  best  personal  friend  I  have  in  the 
world  outside  my  own  family  and  domicile.  This  I 
say  because,  with  the  reports  coming  in  from  all  quar- 
ters that  the  so-called  Patriotic  Peace  Fists  [Boxers] 
are  everywhere  committing  crimes  against  the  for- 
eigners, their  persons,  and  their  properties,  I  could 
not  remain  inactive  or  silent  if  I  were  in  Peking; 
and  that  would  mean  that  Prince  Tuan  would  see  to 
it  that  I  was  put  out  of  the  way.  Still,  to  cut  short 
this  life  of  mine  a  year  or  two  would  do  no  great 
harm,  unless  it  might  be  to  make  Lady  Li  a  widow 
ahead  of  season.  But,  regardless  of  consequences,  I 
should  prove  that  in  my  later  days  I  was  as  true  to 
my  country  as  I  was  thirty  or  forty  years  ago  in  the 
hard,  long,  and  discouraging  battles  with  the  Taiping 
hordes  that  hoped  to  overthrow  the  empire.  Never- 
theless, the  Long-Haired  Rebels  were  not  greater 
enemies  of  the  State  than  some  of  the  oily-tongued, 
richly-robed  counsellors  at  this  very  moment  bask- 
ing in  the  smiles  and  confidence  of  Her  Majesty 
beneath  the  palace  roofs. 

"No,  I  did  not  write  in  this  manner  while  I  was 
at  the  Northern  Capital,  and  I  did  not  utter  such 
words,  but  I  spoke  plainly  to  all  who  had  a  right  to 
listen ;  and  if  my  advice  is  already  forgotten  —  as  it 
went  unheeded  —  it  will  not  be  many  moons  before 
it  is  recalled  again,  perhaps  in  bitterness  and  sorrow. 

"However,  I  must  call  a  halt  to  myself  in  all 
this  matter.  My  hand  shakes  like  that  of  a  fever  pa- 
tient, and  my  tired  eyes  are  as  those  of  a  mummy, 


234       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

'glazed  with  varnish ;  for  I  do  not  sleep  one  twelfth  of 
each  day,  and  my  household  declares  that  never 
before  have  I  acted  the  double  part  of  tyrant  and 
ass.  Yes,  I  am  both;  but  in  the  future  I  shall  en- 
deavour to  mend  all  my  ways.  Only  this:  I  hope  and 
pray  that  seven  times  seven  scourges  and  torments 
will  fall  upon  the  heads  of  the  Patriotic  Peace  Fists! " 

^^  June  10.  —  I  do  not  like  the  news  from  the 
north.  A  telegram  from  Shan,  which  I  asked  him 
to  send,  indicates  that  already  in  Peking  the  de- 
struction of  foreign  property  has  begun.  I  presume 
some  of  my  own  buildings,  leased  by  foreign  firms, 
will  not  be  spared.  Anyway,  I  do  not  care.  I  only 
regret  that  there  are  so  many  English,  German,  and 
Japanese  business  places  in  the  city." 

'^  June  14.  —  And  so  the  wild  ruffians  have  killed 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Japanese  Legation.  This 
means  war  with  Japan,  at  least.  Some  one  else 
will  have  to  go  as  peace  commissioner,  for  I  am 
done  with  making  apologies,  and  then  standing 
about  while  brickbats  of  abuse  and  contumely  are 
hurled  at  my  head." 

^^  June  15.  —  Prince  Tuan  is  surely  in  command 
of  affairs  at  the  Northern  Capital,  and  leading  the 
Throne  on  to  sure  destruction.  He  should  hide  his 
head  in  shame,  a  head  that  is  filled  with  a  mere 
molten  slush  of  hatred,  and  is  devoid  of  real  brains. 


CALLED  TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      235 

If  I  were  now  in  Peking  I  would  brand  him  as  the 
worst  enemy  of  China  in  all  her  history.  It  would 
cost  me  my  head  to  speak  this  way,  but  the  satisfac- 
tion of  telling  the  truth  to  the  arrogant  and  ignorant 
Tuan  would  be  worth  the  loss  by  decapitation." 

^^  Midnight.  —  My  wife  declares  that  I  will  be- 
come insane  over  these  national  troubles.  She  is 
wrong,  just  as  she  often  is.  I  should  go  insane  if 
I  had  nothing  to  bother  me.  My  normal  mental 
state  for  half  a  century  has  been  that  of  perturba- 
tion. Perhaps  it  is  well  that  the  Patriotic  Peace 
Fists  are  giving  me  something  to  worry  over,  thus 
keeping  my  mind  in  its  normal  state." 

^^  June  22. — A  telegraphic  message  tells  me  of 
the  outrageous  killing  of  the  German  Minister! 
In  the  name  of  hell  and  purgatory  and  all  the  black 
valleys,  what  are  the  national  miscreants  thinking 
about?  Oh,  they  call  their  leader  the  great  Jade 
Emperor,  and  they  make  offerings  to  him,  but  I  hope 
he  will  smite  their  twisted  heads ! 

"Now  it  will  not  only  be  war  with  Japan  but 
with  the  German  Empire.  Indeed,  the  Boxers  have 
gone  so  far  that  they  have  committed  the  Throne 
to  their  conduct,  and  the  Government  of  China  will 
be  held  in  strict  accountability  to  the  Powers.  The 
whole  Christian  world  will  unite  against  us,  and 
reach  for  the  neck  of  China  as  a  farmer  grabs  the 
feast-goose  in  the  pen. 


236       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

"All  my  warnings  have  been  and  are  in  vain.  All 
my  words  have  gone  for  naught,  and  the  Dynasty 
is  forever  doomed.  I  saw  the  trend  of  events,  but 
in  my  most  hopeless  hours  I  could  not  foresee  that 
the  ambassadorial  officers  of  the  Powers  would  not 
be  safe  within  their  own  compounds.  Tuan  will  say 
that  these  outrages  were  not  committed  by  Imperial 
troops,  and  that,  according  to  my  reports,  is  true. 
But  this  will  by  no  means  relieve  the  Government 
of  responsibility  in  the  eyes  of  the  outside  nations. 
Japan  is  undoubtedly  this  minute  rejoicing  because 
of  the  death  of  her  Legation  Chancellor.  It  is  the 
excuse  they  have  long  awaited,  burning  under  their 
chagrin  and  disappointment,  since  their  undeserved 
fruits  of  the  war  with  China  were  taken  from  them. 
And  Germany  will  take  no  apology  for  the  murder 
of  her  Minister!  If  she  took  Kiao-chow  from  us  for 
the  lives  of  two  missionaries,  what  will  she  demand 
for  the  life  of  Baron  von  Ketteler?  I  tremble  for  the 
consequences  of  all  this  folly! 

"  I  did  not  know  the  Japanese  official,  but  Baron 
von  Ketteler  was  one  of  the  last  to  say  good-bye 
to  me  in  Peking.  And  upon  that  occasion  he  spoke 
happily  of  our  meeting  in  Germany  four  years  before, 
when  I  was  the  guest  of  his  own  great  nation.  And 
now,  my  fellow-countrymen  kill  him  in  the  streets  of 
our  capital!  What  will  the  Germans  think  now  of 
the  fine  China  I  spoke  so  proudly  of,  and  which  I 
endeavoured  to  represent  so  worthily?  And  all  the 
Christian  world  will  more  than  ever  look  upon  us 


CALLED   TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      237 

as  a  vast  aggregation  of  barbarians,  who  are  not 
possessed   of   the    first   principles   of   international 
dealing,  nor  deserving  of  the  first  advances  of  inter- 
national comity. 
"I  am  ill." 

'^  June  23.  —  In  spite  of  my  illness  I  sent  urgent 
telegraphic  messages  to  Prince  Tuan,  Jung-lu,  and 
Yuan  Shih-k'ai,  telling  them  if  they  would  save 
the  nation  from  being  sliced  like  a  watermelon  by 
the. foreigners,  they  must  turn  all  the  strength  of  the 
Throne  against  the  rufhan  society.  I  sent  also  a  long 
despatch  to  Prince  Ching.  He  does  not  admire  me 
much  since  the  Japanese  war,  but  he  is  a  strong, 
sensible  patriot,  and  undoubtedly  sees  the  terrible 
chasm  into  which  the  country  is  likely  to  fall." 

^^  June  24.  — Sing  brings  me  news  from  the  city 
that  a  telegraphic  despatch  to  the  press  says  the 
Boxers  are  in  complete  control  of  Peking,  but  that 
Prince  Ching  has  refused  to  join  them  with  his 
troops.  If  he  would  but  fight  them  with  his  Manchu 
warriors,  he  would  save  the  situation.  I  am  ill  and 
weak." 

'^  June  25.  —  There  is  an  unconfirmed  report  in 
the  city  that  the  Tsung  Li  Yamen  has  sent  word  to 
the  Legations  that  a  state  of  war  exists  since  the 
firing  upon  the  Taku  forts.  If  this  is  true,  then  the 
Government  is  irrevocably  committed  to  its  own 


238       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

destruction.  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  such  a 
height  of  political  insanity  has  been  reached  by  the 
Court." 

"June  29.  —  To-day  I  received  from  the  north 
a  copy  of  an  edict  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,  but 
written,  I  know,  by  Her  Majesty:  — 

'"Ever  since  the  foundation  of  the  Dynasty, 
foreigners  coming  to  China  have  been  kindly  treated. 
In  the  reign  of  Tao-Kuang  and  Hein  Fung  they 
were  allowed  to  trade  and  to  propagate  their  religion. 
At  first  they  were  amenable  to  Chinese  control,  but 
for  the  past  thirty  years  they  have  taken  advantage 
of  our  forbearance  to  encroach  upon  our  territory, 
to  trample  on  the  Chinese  people,  and  to  absorb  the 
wealth  of  the  empire.  Every  concession  made  seems 
only  to  increase  their  insolence.  They  oppress  our 
peaceful  subjects,  and  insult  our  gods  and  sages, 
exciting  burning  indignation  among  the  people. 
Hence  the  burning  of  chapels  and  the  slaughter  of 
converts  by  the  patriotic  braves.  The  throne  was 
desirous  to  avoid  war,  and  issued  edicts  enjoining 
protection  of  legations  and  pity  toward  converts, 
declaring  Boxers  and  converts  to  be  equally  the 
children  of  the  State.  With  tears  have  we  announced 
in  our  ancestral  shrines  the  outbreak  of  war.  Better 
it  is  to  do  our  utmost  and  enter  on  the  struggle  than 
to  seek  self-preservation  involving  eternal  disgrace. 
All  our  officials,  high  and  low,  are  of  one  mind. 
There  have  also  assembled,  without  official  sum- 


CALLED   TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      239 

mons,  several  thousands  of  soldiers.    Even  children 
carry  spears  in  the  defence  of  their  country.'  " 

^^  July  12. — After  nine  days  in  bed  with  little 
sleep  and  less  food,  I  am  aroused  by  a  report  which 
is  repeated  in  the  city,  saying  that  I  have  been 
reappointed  to  the  Chihli  Viceroyalty.  This  cannot 
be  true,  for  several  reasons.  Anyway,  I  shall  stay 
where  I  am,  in  office  or  out.  Almost  to  repeat  the 
unkind  words  said  to  me  fifteen  years  ago  [Li  refers 
to  Prince  Ching's  remark  when  the  former  started 
for  Japan  as  Peace  Envoy] :  '  They  have  started  the 
trouble,  now  let  them  finish  it.'" 

^^  July  13. — The  local  press  publishes  papers 
confirmatory  of  the  report  that  I  have  been  named 
Viceroy  of  Chihli.  I  am  not  well  enough  to  go  north. 
I  shall  not  go.   That  part  is  settled." 

^^  July  14.  —  My  entire  household  is  in  tears, 
because  the  report  of  my  appointment  is  confirmed 
in  the  press  to-day." 

'^  July  17. — The  Empress  Dowager's  communi- 
cation arrived  this  morning,  and  the  dumbfounding 
truth  is  known  at  last.  She  directs  that  I  proceed  at 
once  to  the  north,  saying  that  I  am  urgently  needed 
in  the  present  great  crisis.  Urgently,  indeed !  I  was 
not  urgently  needed  in  Peking  a  few  short  months 
ago,  when  I  was  virtually  told  that  if  I  had  any 


240       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

' loyal'  advice  to  give  I  might  do  so,  but  if  I  was 
opposed  to  the  'sacred  poHcy'  I  should  hold  my 
peace.  I  have  decided  not  to  go,  even  tliough  it  may 
cost  me  much  to  remain." 

^^ Later,  same  day.  —  I  have  just  forwarded  to 
Her  Majesty  a  telegram  as  follows:  'Your  Majesty's 
confidence  in  me  is,  indeed,  a  very  great  honour,  and 
I  beg  to  say  that  I  am  sincerely  grateful,  more  so 
than  I  am  able  to  express.  Yet  I  cannot  fail  to  recall 
the  folly  that  has  now  suddenly  destroyed  that 
structure  of  reformed  administration  which,  during 
my  term  of  more  than  twenty  years  of  office  as 
Viceroy  of  Chihli,  I  was  able  to  build  up  not  unsuc- 
cessfully. I  fear  that  in  the  present  state  of  my 
mental  and  physical  health  it  will  be  quite  im- 
possible for  me  to  resume  that  difficult  post.  The 
present  time  of  crisis  requires  a  different  and  a 
stronger  hand  than  mine.'" 

^^ Later.  —  I  have  sent  another  message  to  Her 
Majesty  through  Yuan  Shih-k'ai,  asking  what  may 
be  the  chances  for  the  safe  escorting  of  the  foreign 
ministers  from  Peking  to  Tientsin.  I  said  also  to 
him  that  he  might  inform  Her  Majesty  that  I  would 
probably  start  north  as  soon  as  my  health  permits." 

*' Shanghai,  July  22.  —  It  appears  that  there  is 
nothing  for  me  to  do  but  to  obey  the  decree  of  the 
Throne,  and  again  bow  and  scrape  and  apologise 


CALLED   TO  THE   THRONE'S   AID      241 

to  the  foreigners  for  the  murderous  doings  of  a 
class  with  which  I  am  not  at  all  in  sympathy.  I 
had  fondly  thought  that  I  was  done  with  all  this 
sort  of  thing,  but  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  I  am 
face  to  face  with  difficulties  and  complications  such 
as  have  never  confronted  us  before.  Of  course,  for 
these  very  reasons  I  should  be  the  readier  to  take 
upon  my  shoulders  the  task;  but  when  I  consider 
how  absolutely  unnecessary  all  this  trouble  is,  and 
that  my  sincere  and  unselfish  advice  was  so  wholly 
scorned,  I  have  little  heart  for  the  work," 

''Shanghai,  July  23.  —  This  message  came  from 
the  old  Buddha  this  morning:  *  Li  Hung  Chang  is 
to  obey  without  question  our  earlier  decree,  and  to 
hasten  to  the  north,  regardless  of  other  considera- 
tions. He  must  know  that  the  crisis  is  very  serious, 
and  that  he  can,  therefore,  offer  no  further  valid 
excuses.'" 

"  Midnight,  July  22,.  —  I  have  just  finished  a 
memorial  to  the  Throne,  which  I  shall  forward  to 
Yuan  Shih-k'ai  at  the  earliest  hour  of  the  morning 
by  swift  couriers.  Though  lengthy,  I  am  keeping  a 
copy,  that  at  least  my  own  children,  if  denied  access 
to  the  Records,  will  know  my  words:  — 

"'It  is  to  be  remembered  that  between  this  our 
Empire  of  China,  and  the  outer  barbarians,  hos- 
tilities have  frequently  occurred  since  the  remotest 
antiquity,  and  our  national  history  teaches  that 


242       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

the  best  w^y  to  meet  them  is  to  determine  upon 
our  policy  only  after  carefully  ascertaining  their 
strength  as  compared  with  our  own.  Since  the 
middle  of  the  reign  of  Tao-Kuang,  the  pressure  of 
the  barbarians  on  our  borders  has  steadily  increased, 
and  to-day  we  are  brought  to  desperate  straits 
indeed.  In  i860  they  invaded  the  Capital,  and 
burned  the  Summer  Palace;  His  Majesty  Hsien- 
Feng  was  forced  to  flee,  and  thus  came  to  his  death. 
It  is  only  natural  that  His  Majesty's  posterity  should 
long  to  avenge  him  to  the  end  of  time,  and  that  your 
subjects  should  continue  to  cherish  undying  hopes 
of  revenge.  But  since  that  time  France  has  taken 
from  us  Annam,  the  whole  of  that  dependency  being 
irretrievably  lost;  Japan  has  fought  us  and  ousted 
us  from  Korea.  Even  worse  disasters  and  loss  of 
territory  were  to  follow;  Germany  seized  Kiao-chow; 
Russia  followed  by  annexing  Port  Arthur  and  Talien- 
wan;  England  demanded  Wei-hai-wei  and  Kowloon, 
together  with  the  extension  of  the  Shanghai  Settle- 
ments, and  the  opening  of  new  treaty  ports  inland; 
and  France  made  further  demands  for  Kuang- 
Chou-wan.  How  could  we  possibly  maintain  silence 
under  such  grievous  and  repeated  acts  of  aggression? 
Craven  would  be  the  man  who  would  not  seek  to 
improve  our  defences,  and  shameless  would  be  he 
who  did  not  long  for  the  day  of  reckoning.  I  myself 
have  enjoyed  no  small  favours  from  the  Throne,  and 
much  is  expected  of  me  by  the  nation.  Needless  for 
me  to  say  how  greatly  I  should  rejoice  were  it  possible 


CALLED   TO   THE  THRONE'S  AID      243 

for  China  to  enter  upon  a  glorious  and  triumphant 
war;  it  would  be  the  joy  of  my  closing  days  to  see 
the  barbarian  nations  subjugated  at  last  in  submis- 
sive allegiance,  respectfully  making  obeisance  to  the 
Dragon  Throne.  Unfortunately,  however,  I  cannot 
but  recognise  the  melancholy  fact  that  China  is  un- 
equal tp^nxsuch  enterpriser  and  that  our  forces  are 
iajiDJatay-Conipetent-to-ufldertake  it.  Looking  at  the 
question  as  one  chiefly  affecting  the  integrity  of  our 
empire,  who  would  be  so  foolish  as  to  cast  missiles 
at  a  rat  in  the  vicinity  of  a  priceless  piece  of  porce- 
lain? It  requires  no  augur's  skill  in  divination  to  see 
that  eggs  are  more  easily  to  be  cracked  than  stones. 
Let  us  consider  one  recent  incident  in  proof  of  this 
conclusion.  Recently,  in  the  attack  by  some  tens  of 
thousands  of  Boxers  and  Imperial  troops  upon  the 
foreign  settlements  at  Tientsin,  there  were  some  two 
or  three  thousand  soldiers  to  defend  them ;  yet,  after 
ten  days  of  desperate  fighting,  only  a  few  hundred 
foreigners  had  been  slain,  while  no  less  than  twenty 
thousand  Chinese  were  killed  and  as  many  more 
wounded.  Again,  there  are  no  real  defences  nor 
fortified  positions  in  the  Legations  at  Peking,  nor 
are  the  foreign  ministers  and  Legation  staffs  trained 
in  the  use  of  arms;  nevertheless,  Tung  Fuhsiang's 
hordes  have  been  bombarding  them  for  more  than  a 
month,  and  have  lost  many  thousands  of  men  in  the 
vain  attempt  to  capture  the  position. 

"  *  The  fleets  of  the  Allied  Powers  are  now  hurrying 
forward  vast  bodies  of  their  troops;  the  heaviest 


244       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

artillery  is  now  being  brought  swiftly  to  our  shores. 
Has  China  the  forces  to  meet  them?  Does  she  pos- 
sess a  single  leader  capable  of  resisting  this  invasion? 
If  the  foreign  Powers  send  100,000  men  they  will 
easily  capture  Peking,  and  Your  Majesties  will  then 
find  escape  impossible.  You  will  no  doubt  endeavour 
once  more  to  flee  to  Jehol,  but  on  this  occasion  you 
have  no  commander  like  Sheng  Pao  to  hold  back  the 
enemies'  forces  from  pursuit;  or,  perhaps,  you  may 
decide  to  hold  another  Peace  Conference,  like  that  of 
Shimonoseki,  in  1895?  But  the  conditions  to-day 
existing  are  in  no  way  similar  to  those  of  that  time, 
when  Marquis  Ito  was  willing  to  meet  me  as  your 
Minister  Plenipotentiary.  When  betrayed  by  the 
Boxers  and  abandoned  by  all,  where  will  Your 
Majesties  find  a  single  prince,  councillor,  or  states- 
man able  to  assist  you  effectively?  The  fortunes  of 
your  house  are  being  staked  by  a  single  throw;  my 
blood  runs  cold  at  night  at  the  thought  of  events 
to  come.  Under  any  enlightened  sovereign  these 
Boxers,  with  their  ridiculous  claims  of  supernatural 
powers,  would  most  assuredly  have  been  condemned 
to  death  long  since.  Is  it  not  on  record  that  the  Han 
Dynasty  met  its  death  because  of  its  belief  in  magi- 
cians, and  in  their  power  to  confer  invisibility?  Was 
not  the  Sung  Dynasty  destroyed  because  the  Em- 
peror believed  ridiculous  stories  about  supernatural 
warriors  clad  in  miraculous  coats  of  mail? 

" '  I  myself  am  nearly  eighty  years  of  age,  and  my 
death  cannot  be  far  distant ;  I  have  received  favours 


CALLED   TO   THE  THRONE'S   AID      245 

at  the  hands  of  four  emperors.  If  now  I  hesitate  to 
say  the  things  that  are  in  my  mind,  how  shall  I  face 
the  spirits  of  the  sacred  ancestors  of  this  Dynasty 
when  we  meet  in  the  halls  of  Hades?  I  am  compelled 
therefore  to  give  utterance  to  this  my  solemn  prayer, 
and  to  beseech  Your  Majesties  to  put  away  from  you 
at  once  these  vile  magic  workers,  and  to  have  them 
summarily  executed. 

'"You  should  take  steps  immediately  to  appoint 
a  high  official  who  shall  purge  the  land  of  this  vil- 
lainous rabble,  and  who  shall  see  to  it  that  the  foreign 
ministers  are  safely  escorted  to  the  headquarters  of 
the  Allied  Armies.  In  spite  of  the  heat  I  have  hur- 
ried northwards  from  Canton  to  Shanghai,  where 
Your  Majesties'  decrees  urging  me  to  come  to  Peking 
have  duly  reached  me.  Any  physical  weakness, 
however  serious,  would  not  have  deterred  me  from 
obeying  this  summons,  but  perusal  of  your  decrees 
has  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that  Your  Majesties 
have  not  yet  adopted  a  policy  of  reason,  but  are 
still  in  the  hands  of  traitors,  regarding  these  Box- 
ers as  your  dutiful  subjects,  with  the  result  that  un- 
rest is  spreading  and  alarm  universal.  Moreover,  I 
am  here  in  Shanghai  without  a  single  soldier  at  my 
command,  and  even  should  I  proceed  in  all  haste  in 
the  endeavour  to  present  myself  at  your  palace  gates, 
I  should  meet  with  innumerable  dangers  by  the  way, 
and  the  end  of  my  journey  would  most  probably  be 
that  I  should  provide  your  rebellious  and  turbulent 
subjects  with  one  more  carcass  to  hack  into  mince- 


246       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

meat.  I  shall  therefore  continue  in  residence  here  for 
the  present,  considering  ways  and  means  for  raising 
a  military  force  and  for  furnishing  supplies,  as  well 
as  availing  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  ascertaining 
the  enemies'  plans,  and  making  such  diplomatic  sug- 
gestions as  occur  to  me  to  be  useful.  As  soon  as  my 
plans  are  complete  I  shall  proceed  northwards  with 
all  possible  speed.' " 

During  the  following  weeks  the  aged  Viceroy  wrote 
but  little  in  his  diary,  for  physical  ills  sorely  beset 
him ;  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  unwilling  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  north  until  given  assurances  by  the 
Government  not  only  that  the  persons  and  prop- 
erties of  the  foreigners  in  Peking  would  be  given  the 
fullest  protection  and  security  from  that  time  forth, 
but  that  those  who  were  responsible  for  the  outbreak 
would  be  summarily  and  adequately  punished. 

''Atigust  2.  —  I  think  too  much  of  my  good  name 
to  have  it  associated  with  those  of  the  inciters  in  this 
outrageous  matter.  I  will  not  go  north  until  certain 
promises  I  have  asked  for  are  made  by  Her  Majesty 
and  those  about  her." 

"August  8.  —  A  sick  man  has  been  appointed 
Peace  Plenipotentiary  to  treat  with  the  Powers. 
How  can  I  hold  my  head  up  and  demand  considera- 
tion in  this  matter  when  my  limbs  are  almost  too 
weak  to  support  my  body ?  " 


CALLED  TO  THE  THRONE'S  AID      247 

The  last  lines  in  Li's  diary  in  relation  to  the  Boxer 
outbreak  appear  to  have  been  written  at  Tientsin 
on  August  18:  — 

"A  rest  of  a  few  days,  and  then  I  will  proceed  to 
Peking  to  stay  the  hand  of  the  Powers  as  much  as 
in  me  lies.  Oh,  if  my  own  hand  were  not  so  weak, 
and  my  cause  so  much  weaker!  The  Court  is  in 
hiding,  and  the  people  are  distracted.  There  is  no 
Government,  and  chaos  reigns.  I  fear  the  task 
before  me  is  too  great  for  my  strength  of  body, 
though  I  would  do  one  thing  more  before  I  call  the 
earthly  battle  over.  I  would  have  the  foreigners 
believe  in  us  once  more,  and  not  deprive  China  of 
her  national  life;  and  I  should  like  to  bring  old 
Buddha  back  to  the  palace,  and  ask  her  if  she  had 
learned  a  lesson." 

The  "Grand  Old  Man  of  China"  indeed  did 
accomplish  the  restoration  of  China  in  his  long- 
drawn-out  negotiations  with  the  representatives  of 
the  ten  foreign  Powers  directly  interested,  and  on 
every  side  it  was  admitted  that  in  his  seventy-ninth 
year  the  one-time  wisher  for  the  poet-laureateship 
of  China  had  at  least  won  the  freshest  and  greenest 
laurel  wreath  among  her  statesmen  and  diplomats  of 
all  time. 

But  the  ill  and  aged  Peace  Plenipotentiary  was 
not  to  be  granted  the  wish  that  he  might  again  see 
the  Empress  Dowager  face  to  face  in  the  palace. 
Though  she  had  undoubtedly  "learned  a  lesson,"  it 


248       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

was  not  to  be  Li  Hung  Chang's  privilege  and  pleasure 
to  ask  her  if  she  had;  for  while  the  old  Buddha,  as 
she  was  familiarly  and  endearingly  called  by  those 
who  knew  her  best,  was  on  her  return  journey 
to  Peking,  ten  months  after  her  unceremonious 
flight  from  the  Forbidden  City,  his  last  illness  came 
upon  the  famous  Viceroy,  and  his  death  occurred  on 
7th  November,  1901,  at  his  Peking  residence,  Tze 
Hsi  arriving  at  her  capital  on  6th  January  following. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

HIS   FIGHT   TO   HOLD   KOREA 

^'  March,  1882.  —  It  would  appear  as  if  the  Palace 
intended  to  lay  the  entire  burden  of  Korean  troubles 
upon  my  shoulders,  and  I  presume  there  is  nothing 
for  me  to  do  but  use  every  means  in  my  power  to 
balk  the  plain  designs  of  the  Nipponese.  My  reports 
indicate  as  plainly  as  the  sun  in  the  sky  that  it  is  the 
hope  of  the  Islanders  to  bring  affairs  at  Seoul  to  such 
a  crisis  that  China  will  either  be  compelled  to  assert 
suzerainty  without  equivocation,  or  forever  hence- 
forward pretend  to  no  claims  in  that  quarter." 

''March  17,  1882. — Without  edict  the  Throne 
has  commanded  me  to  assume  sole  and  complete 
charge  of  our  interests  in  the  Hermit  Kingdom,  and 
it  now  behoves  me  to  prepare  for  such  emergencies 
as  may  arise  in  that  troubled  and  troublesome  coun- 
try. With  scarcely  a  tribute  that  was  worth  while 
in  all  these  hundreds  of  years,  Korea  has  ever  been 
independent  and  even  resentful  of  our  influence  or 
interest;  but  just  so  soon  as  trouble  looms  up  on  the 
horizon,  from  causes  having  their  source  either  within 
or  without  the  kingdom,  she  comes  begging  for  help. 
And  help  has  never  been  denied,  for  the  people  of  the 
country  are  our  people,  and  they  share  with  us  the 
everlasting  dislike  for  the  pygmy  Nipponese,  with 


250       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

their  strutting  ways  and  ignorant  presumptions.  We 
taught  the  Nipponese  what  Httle  they  knew  in  the 
beginning,  which  they  speedily  unlearned,  supplant- 
ing that  knowledge  with  a  vain  assumption  of  supe- 
riority in  most  matters.  They  treat  the  Koreans  as 
rank  inferiors,  and  have  come  to  believe  that  because 
of  its  proximity  Korea  is  a  vassal  state. 

"  I  regret  to  learn  that  the  Tai  Wen  Kun  is  stirring 
up  internal  trouble  at  a  time  when  he  should  be  giving 
all  the  support  of  which  he  is  capable  to  his  son,  and 
thus  more  effectually  circumventing  the  machina- 
tions of  the  Mikado's  agents.  I  must  see  to  it  that  Li 
Hsia  Ying  [the  Tai  Wen  Kun,  or  Chief  Court  Lord]  is 
communicated  with  at  once,  to  the  end  that  he  will 
not  bring  disagreeable  matters  to  a  head  too  soon. 

"The  Imperial  Resident  [at  Seoul,  Yuan  Shih-k'ai] 
sends  by  special  messenger  for  instructions  as  to  what 
it  is  best  to  do  in  the  event  of  a  renewed  outbreak 
against  the  Japanese.  The  details  of  the  former 
outbreak  have  not  yet  been  reported  to  me,  and  I  am 
quite  in  the  dark  as  to  how  great  is  the  damage.  If 
I  did  not  believe  affairs  would  be  forced  to  a  critical 
point,  I  would  order  a  thousand  of  my  men  to  go 
secretly  to  the  support  of  the  Imperial  Resident  to 
be  ready  for  his  call." 

"The  Imperial  Resident  writes  me  that  the 
Japanese  Minister  [Hanabusa]  is  doing  all  in  his 
power  by  underhand  tricks  and  secret  games  to  bring 
about  an  attack  upon  his  own  legation,  and  that  I 


HIS  FIGHT  TO  HOLD   KOREA         251 

must  be  prepared  for  an  outbreak  to  occur  at  any 
time.  Shih-k'ai  declares  that  many  Korean  traitors, 
in  the  pay  and  service  of  the  Mikado's  agents,  are 
ready  at  the  word  from  their  masters  to  make 
trouble  about  the  Japanese  legation,  thereby  offer- 
ing an  excuse  for  Hanabusa  to  appeal  to  the  Tokio 
authorities." 

"I  have  despatched  one  hundred  and  twenty  of 
my  most  trusted  men  from  Paoting-fu  to  report 
directly  to  the  Resident  and  ferret  out  the  black- 
guards. Mong  is  in  command,  and  that  alone  means 
that  the  traitors  will  be  located  promptly,  and  their 
names  and  persons  made  known  to  the  King's  police. 
I  expect  excellent  returns  from  the  mission,  and  the 
Resident  is  to  be  highly  commended  for  the  thor- 
oughness of  his  information." 

^^ August  II,  1882.  —  The  news  from  Seoul  is  very 
satisfactory,  at  least  in  one  important  respect,  and 
I  shall  soon  have  as  a  guest  an  old  devil  I  have  much 
longed  to  see  —  dead  or  alive ;  for  a  courier  from  our 
strong  man  in  Korea  [Yuan  Shih-k'ai]  informs  me 
that  he  has  succeeded  at  last  in  throwing  the  bag 
over  Li  Hsia  Ying's  troublesome  head,  and  that 
under  proper  escort  he  is  on  the  way  hither." 

^^  Later,  same  date.  —  A  second  messenger  from 
the  Resident  has  arrived.  He  hurried  on  ahead  of 
the  Tai  Wen  Kun's  party,  and  believes  he  is  at  least 


252        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

thirty  li  in  advance  of  them.  The  old  devil  was 
landed  at  Shanghai-kwan,  and  is  being  hurried  along 
on  the  lower  coal  road. 

"  If  this  man  were  not  such  an  inborn  detester  of 
everything  that  pertains  to  Nippon  or  the  Nip- 
ponese, I  should  be  tempted  sorely  to  make  his  head 
a  decoration  upon  the  Yamen  walls.  The  Throne 
does  not  as  yet,  at  this  hour,  know  of  the  success  of 
my  plans  with  reference  to  Li  Hsia  Ying,  but  all  the 
ofhcials  will  be  glad  to  know  that  he  is  no  longer  at 
Seoul." 

''My  Bedroom.  [Without  date,  but  probably 
written  a  few  days  after  the  foregoing.]  —  Even  in 
times  of  stress  and  strife  it  is  given  to  the  thinking 
man  to  have  moments,  if  not  hours,  during  which  he 
may  retire  to  the  company  of  himself,  and  think 
quietly  and  soberly  upon  what  fate  has  done  or  may 
do  for  him.  Oftentimes  — though  I  have  few  hours 
which  are  not  given  to  official,  family,  or  business 
cares  —  I  find  excellent  recreation  for  the  mind  in 
traversing  back  the  years  and  noting  their  mistakes 
and  victories,  or  in  attempting  to  peer  into  the  future, 
and  see  in  the  dim  light  of  the  yet-to-be  what  fate 
or  the  gods  may  have  in  store. 

"Yesterday,  upon  returning  from  Peking,  weary 
of  body  and  spirit,  I  retired  early  to  my  bed  and 
slept  and  slept.  Though  there  were  several  promi- 
nent foreigners  in  the  city  to  see  me,  among  them 
Captain  Wise,   of  the  United  States   Navy,   and 


HIS  FIGHT  TO  HOLD   KOREA         253 

though  Baron  Mollendorff  [a  confidential  and  busi- 
ness agent  of  the  Viceroy's]  left  word  that  he  had 
urgent  matters  to  lay  before  me,  I  gave  strict 
injunctions  that  I  was  to  be  disturbed  on  no  consid- 
eration. As  I  say,  I  slept  and  slept;  therefore  to-day 
I  feel  at  least  half  a  dozen  years  younger,  and  shall 
undoubtedly  be  able  to  meet  all  callers  in  good 
humour. 

"In  the  hour  since  the  morning  meal  —  which 
here  in  Tientsin  all  the  Americans  and  English  call 
'tiffin,'  while  at  home  they  call  it  by  some  other 
name  —  I  have  thought  much  of  my  friend  Li  Hsia 
Ying,  who  is  now  safely  stored  away  in  the  for- 
tress at  Paoting-fu. 

"I  was  compelled,  indeed,  to  laugh  at  the  old 
fellow  who  has  been  such  a  mischievous  old  devil 
at  Seoul  for  years  past,  and  who,  in  his  own  stone- 
hearted  way,  was  hurrying  us  on  to  war  with  Japan. 
He  is  not  the  Tai  Wen  Kun,  the  Chief  Court  Lord, 
now;  but  a  very  meek  and  humble  prisoner,  who 
spends  much  of  his  time  in  wondering  when  his  head 
will  be  severed  from  his  body!  I  did  not  desire  that 
the  old  man  should  suffer  mentally,  and,  upon  his 
first  entrance  to  the  Yamen,  took  occasion  to  tell 
him  that  no  trouble  whatever  would  befall  him  unless 
he  were  foolish  enough  to  attempt  to  return  to  Seoul. 

'"But  I  belong  in  Seoul,  in  Korea,'  he  exclaimed. 
'  Why  was  I  put  into  a  bag  [kidnapped]  and  brought 
here  to  China?' 

"I  told  him  in  plain  language  that  he  had  been 


254       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

a  seriously  disturbing  element  in  Seoul,  and  that  for 
that  reason  we  had  thought  it  best  to  remove  him 
to  a  place  where  he  could  do  no  harm. 

'"But  I  am  of  royal  blood,'  he  exploded  upon 
gaining  his  second  breath,  'and  neither  Your  Ex- 
cellency nor  any  one  else  has  the  right  to  kidnap 
me!' 

"In  one  way  it  was  quite  serious,  and  in  another 
most  laughable,  and  I  could  not  help  saying  to  the 
one-time  Chief  Court  Lord  that  history  was  full  of 
instances  in  which  royal  blood,  when  its  owners  were 
not  careful,  had  the  habit  of  running  the  wrong  way. 
This  appeared  to  quiet  the  old  fellow,  if  not  his  fears, 
at  least  his  voice,  and  he  immediately  began  in 
whispers  to  ask  what  the  Court  intended  doing  with 
him. 

"I  have  arranged  that  the  former  Chief  Regent 
spend  some  time  in  the  fortress  of  Paoting-fu, 
where  he  will  be  treated  with  every  consideration  due 
his  former  and  present  positions,  and  be  kept  out 
of  mischief;  for  he  is,  indeed,  a  mischief-maker  in 
a  political  way.  We  have  just  now  enough  to  con- 
tend with  in  Korea ;  but  a  man  can  always  watch  his 
enemies,  while  he  is  never  able  to  say  what  next 
folly  his  friends  will  accomplish.  Thus  it  is  with  our 
good  friend  Li  Hsia  Ying.   But  he  is  safe  now." 

''December  19,  1882.  —  The  Hong-Kong  journals 
print  an  American  despatch  which  says  that  the 
editors  in  the  United  States  regard  my  removal  of 


HIS  FIGHT  TO  HOLD   KOREA         255 

the  Tai  Wen  Kun  from  Seoul  to  China  as  a  very 
high-handed  outrage;  and  these  American  papers 
speak  of  Tai  as  being  the  great  friend  of  the  United 
States,  saying  that  it  was  he  and  he  alone  in  all 
Korea  who  exhibited  enlightenment  sufficient  to 
receive  the  American  expedition  in  1867. 

"This  is  clearly  a  mistake,  for  the  expedition  of 
1867  was  not  received  in  Korea  at  all,  nor  in  all 
likelihood  would  there  to-day  be  a  treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  Korea  but  for  the  writer  of 
these  lines.  Last  year,  about  this  time,  Com- 
modore Shufeldt,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who 
led  the  futile  expedition  of  1867,  came  to  me  here 
in  Tientsin.  And  in  this  very  room  we  two  discussed 
and  went  over  the  subject  of  a  new  mission  to  Korea. 
Between  us  we  wrote  the  draft  of  the  treaty  that 
was  finally  agreed  upon  at  Seoul  between  the  Tai 
Wen  Kun  and  Commodore  Shufeldt. 

"Furthermore,  let  it  be  noted  for  the  benefit  of 
history  that  an  escort  of  my  own  men  accompanied 
the  American  naval  officer  to  Chemulpo,  the  entire 
party  being  carried  in  a  ship  belonging  to  me  per- 
sonally, and  Commander  Shufeldt  carrying  from  me 
one  of  the  strongest  letters  I  have  ever  written.  That 
letter  was  directed  to  Li  Hsia  Ying,  acting  King  of 
Korea,  who  was  urged  —  if  he  cared  for  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Viceroy  of  Pechili  —  to  bring  his  Govern- 
ment to  the  signing  of  the  document  carried  by  the 
American  naval  officer.  The  treaty  was  signed ;  and 
now  the  Americans,  because  I  invite  the  Tai  Wen 


256       MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

Kun  to  be  the  guest  of  China,  call  my  action  high- 
handed —  because  he  was  the  Americans'  friend!" 


In  the  Viceroy's  manuscript  is  reference  to  a 
further  treaty,  modelled  upon  the  one  he  and  Com- 
modore Shufeldt  had  prepared,  as  having  also  been 
signed  by  the  Tai  Wen  Kun  and  his  ministers,  and 
by  [the  document  is  here  torn  and  the  names  ob- 
literated]  ...  on  behalf  of  Great  Britain. 

*' Paoting-fu,  1883. — To-day  I  had  as  my  guest 
at  two  meals  my  old  friend  Li  Hsia  Ying.  He  is 
chafing  under  the  mild  restraint  imposed  upon  him, 
and  declares  that  if  his  life  would  be  prolonged  he 
must  be  allowed  to  return  to  Korea,  in  order,  he 
says,  that  he  may  be  with  his  family.  When  I  told 
him  that  the  Throne  had  decided  that  he  must 
remain  in  China,  at  least  for  some  months  longer, 
he  became  at  first  excited  and  afterwards  depressed, 
finally  declaring  that  he  would  make  away  with  him- 
self if  some  change  in  his  position  were  not  brought 
about.  I  asked  him  if  he  desired  more  servants  or 
less.    And  he  replied  excitedly:  — 

'"Less!  Less!  Take  the  whole  damned  lot  away 
and  I  shall  be  happy.* 

"Thus  some  men,  even  with  every  earthly  need 
provided  them,  are  not  contented." 

The  Viceroy's  diary  does  not  contain  any  further 
reference  to  the  enforced  visit  of  the  Chief  Court 


HIS   FIGHT  TO  HOLD   KOREA  257 

Lord  of  Korea,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  brief 
entry,  unaccompanied  by  a  date,  which  simply  re- 
marks: "I  hope  His  High  Excellency  Li  Hsia  Ying 
is  now  satisfied,"  leaving  the  searcher  in  doubt 
whether  at  the  time  of  its  making  the  old  ex-king 
had,  as  he  threatened,  "made  away"  with  himself, 
or  had  been  allowed  to  return  to  his  longed-for 
Seoul. 

(Without  date.)  —  "Affairs  in  Korea  have  come 
to  such  a  pass  that  it  is  necessary  at  this  juncture 
to  announce  fully  our  position,  and  I  have  sent  to  the 
Imperial  Resident,  for  presentation  to  the  Japanese 
Minister,  and  through  him  to  the  Government  of 
Japan,  a  statement  of  Imperial  claims  with  reference 
to  the  political  status  of  that  country.  I  have  com- 
municated the  matter  fully  to  Peking,  and  my 
action  is  already  given  hearty  accord. 

"The  Japanese  have  no  claims,  inherited  or  ac- 
quired, in  Chosen  [Korea],  and  we  deny  the  right 
of  the  Mikado's  representative,  or  representatives, 
or  subjects,  to  interfere  with  the  internal  workings 
of  that  vassal  kingdom.  Nor  has  any  other  Power 
whatsoever,  outside  China,  the  right  to  partake 
in  the  affairs  of  that  country,  internal  or  external. 
There  can  be  no  question  of  the  absolute  right  of  full 
suzerainty.  If  not  of  actual  sovereignty,  of  the 
Throne  [China]  in  Korea;  and  it  is  high  time  that 
the  Japanese  understood  our  unequivocal  position 
in  this  regard. 


258       MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG   CHANG 

"I  have  directed  that  my  proclamation  on  behalf 
of  the  Throne  be  delivered  to  the  King  [of  Korea], 
and  that  it  be  published  upon  the  walls  of  the  city 
[Seoul]  and  at  other  cities  and  ports  of  the  tributary 
kingdom. 

"  It  is  a  gauntlet  thrown  down  to  the  pygmy  and 
presumptuous  Japanese;  but  the  various  foreign 
Governments  represented  at  Seoul,  including  the 
Russian,  the  American,  and  the  British,  have  asked 
for  a  definition  of  our  position. 

"From  all  my  correspondence  during  five  or  six 
years,  but  more  especially  from  personal  interviews 
with  the  ministers  and  special  representatives  of 
the  Powers  within  the  past  year,  I  am  convinced 
that  Japarfs  pretensions  in  Korea  are  viewed  with 
great  disfavour  throughout  the  world;  and  I  am 
confidently  of  the  opinion  that  China  has  and  will 
continue  to  have  the  moral  support  of  the  leading 
nations  so  far  as  her  claims  to  suzerainty  in  Korea 
are  concerned.  Some  of  them  may  not  fully  acquiesce 
in  our  present  partial  claim  to  sovereignty,  but  none 
of  them  will  give  moral  backing  to  Japan  in  any  of 
her  new-formed  pretensions." 

''May,  1883. — With  the  entire  approval  of  the 
Treasury  and  the  Council,  and  in  full  personal 
belief  that  it  is  the  only  correct  course  to  pursue  in 
the  present  unsatisfactory  state  of  Korean  finances, 
I  have  appointed  Baron  von  Mollendorff  head  of  the 
Customs  Service,  and  he  will  proceed  again  to  Seoul. 


HIS  FIGHT  TO  HOLD   KOREA         259 

His  several  visits  to  the  country,  his  able  under- 
standing of  the  language  and  the  people,  and,  above 
all,  his  keen  ability  in  the  realm  of  finance,  make 
him  well  suited  to  the  place.  I  look  for  better 
results  in  every  way,  and  am  confident  the  King's 
financial  affairs  will  shortly  be  at  least  upon  a  credit- 
able basis. 

''Mollendorff  will  also  act  for  me  as  Foreign 
Adviser  to  the  King,  and  thereby  prevent  any 
unwise  moves  on  the  part  of  His  Majesty." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE   CESSION   OF   FORMOSA 

In  one  of  the  longest  of  his  single  political  manu- 
scripts, sufficiently  lengthy  in  itself  to  make  a  fair- 
sized  pamphlet,  Viceroy  Li  deals  with  the  cession 
of  Formosa  to  the  Japanese.  He  calls  the  island  by 
its  ancient  Chinese  name,  Taiwan,  but  in  a  number 
of  places  refers  to  it  variously  as  the  "Land  of 
Pirates,"  the  "Island  of  Brown  Robbers,"  etc.  The 
monograph  was  WTitten  probably  during  the  year 
1897,  for  in  it  he  refers  to  "my  excuses  to  the 
Throne"  (on  the  same  subject).  In  the  monograph 
he  quotes  from  the  last  mentioned  as  "sent  in  the 
ninth  moon  of  1896":  — 

"It  will  some  day  be  seen  that  I  rendered  my 
country  a  distinct  service  when  I  gave  over  Formosa 
[Taiwan]  to  the  Japanese  enemy.  I  do  not  expect 
that  the  country  generally,  or  the  world,  will  recog- 
nise this  for  many  years  to  come,  for  political  preju- 
dices linger  long  in  the  minds  of  people,  especially 
those  most  intimately  concerned.  We  of  to-day  bless 
Ping  Ti  [an  emperor  reigning  about  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era]  for  his  encouragement  of  sweet 
ballads  and  his  cultivation  of  the  graces.  But,  as 
Ha-Po  tells  us,  there  were  thousands  and  thousands 
of  people  of  his  time  who  said  that  he  was  a  Woman- 


THE   CESSION  OF  FORMOSA  261 

King,  and  should  be  rubbing  oil  upon  the  head  of  a 
husband. 

"From  my  earliest  knowledge  of  things  relating 
to  the  whole  country,  I  was  most  stoutly  of  the  opin- 
ion that  this  Land  of  the  Brown  Robbers  was  a  vile 
spot,  in  which  no  man,  even  if  he  had  the  swiftest 
of  the  running  sicknesses  [reference  is  made  to 
leprosy],  would  ever  care  to  live.  My  father,  after 
one  of  his  journeys  to  the  sea,  told  me  of  having  seen 
many  of  the  brown  pirates  brought  to  land  and  cut 
in  small  pieces,  and  the  pieces,  he  said,  were  scat- 
tered far  apart  in  order  that  these  fierce  fellows 
would  never  be  able  to  grow  together  again. 

"  But  while  such  tales  impressed  me  in  my  younger 
years,  I  did  not  let  them  influence  my  opinions  when 
I  could  study  these  matters  from  facts  and  reports 
and  common  knowledge.  I  knew  that  while  the 
island,  like  Boko-To,  the  Pescadores,  paid  some 
tribute  to  the  Throne,  and  paid  the  tribute  regularly 
every  seven  moons,  this  was  only  to  throw  sand  in 
the  eyes  of  the  people  so  that  the  cut-throats  might 
better  rob  and  plunder.  It  was  as  if  one  of  my 
servants  would  bring  me  a  wild  duck  as  a  present, 
making  me  think  well  of  him,  while  his  whole  object 
was  to  plunder  my  own  fine  fowl  ponds. 

"  In  after  years  I  made  considerable  study  of  this 
possession  of  the  Throne  which  was  the  cause  of  so 
much  worry  to  all  the  Canton  river-men,  and  even 
up  and  down  the  coast  from  Macao  to  Shanghai. 
More  than  that,   by  preying  upon  the  vessels  of 


262        MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

foreigners  they  were  bringing  the  Viceroys  and  even 
the  Government  at  the  Northern  Capital  into  wars 
and  money  troubles.  Yet  all  this  time  they  were 
paying  tribute,  and  this  tribute  was  being  received 
with  smiles  and  gladness. 

"It  may  not  be  known  generally,  but  as  early 
as  1873,  when  complaints  came  to  Tientsin  from 
British  traders,  I  earnestly  memorialised  the  Throne 
to  offer  Taiwan  to  the  English  Government  to  do 
with  the  wretched  island  as  they  saw  fit. 

''It  was  the  first  memorial  of  the  kind  I  had 
addressed  to  the  Sacred  Car,  and  it  nearly  cost  me 
my  position  as  well  as  my  head.  Being  summoned 
to  Peking,  I  was  asked  by  the  Grand  Council  what 
I  meant  by  advocating  that  a  part  of  the  Imperial 
territory  be  given  away;  to  which  I  replied  that  I 
was  satisfied  it  was  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  benefit 
to  the  nation.  If  the  great  island  could  not  be  sold, 
I  advocated  that  it  be  made  a  present  to  England. 
I  told  the  Council  that  as  England  had  been  so  ready 
to  grab  Hong-Kong  we  might  in  a  measure  get  even 
with  her  by  making  a  gift  of  Formosa.  All  manner 
of  threats  were  made  to  me  at  the  time  of  this  visit, 
and  I  was  requested  to  mind  my  most  personal  and 
provincial  business.  At  that  time  I  did  not  know 
that  my  words  were  striking  so  near  the  tribute- 
getters,  but  I  learned  afterward  that  while  some  of 
the  same  Grand  Council  agreed  with  me  secretly  as 
to  the  utter  worthlessness  of  the  possession,  there 
were  some  reasons  why  they  would  not  have  the 


THE   CESSION   OF   FORMOSA  263 

brown  sea-rovers  disturbed.  I  returned  to  Tientsin 
determined  truly  to  be  not  too  anxious  regarding 
affairs  outside  my  own  sphere;  and  I  believe  that 
that  one  high  reprimand  was  perhaps  responsible  for 
keeping  me  from  more  serious  meddlings  during  the 
years  when  I  still  had  not  an  army  behind  me,  nor 
money  in  my  chests,  nor  rice  in  my  warehouses. 

"A  poor  man  is  ever  at  a  disadvantage  in  matters 
of  public  concern.  When  he  rises  to  speak,  or  writes 
a  letter  to  his  superiors,  they  ask:  Who  is  this  fellow 
that  offers  advice?  And  when  it  is  known  that  he  is 
without  coin  they  spit  their  hands  at  him,  and  use  his 
letters  in  the  cooks'  fires.  But  if  it  be  a  man  of  wealth 
who  would  speak  or  write  or  denounce,  even  though 
he  have  the  brain  of  a  yearling  dromedary,  or  a  spine 
as  crooked  and  unseemly,  the  whole  city  listens  to 
his  words  and  declares  them  wise. 

"And  just  so  it  is  with  the  man  in  office  who  is 
not  yet  possessed  of  sufficient  bannermen  or  stored 
wealth  to  make  him  strong.  He  may  obtain  his 
office  through  his  learning  or  ability,  but  he  holds 
it  always  at  the  mercy  of  some  one  who  is  higher 
than  himself. 

"We  all  crave  ofifice  of  some  kind,  if  that  only 
of  a  village  headman  or  an  inspector  of  canals;  but 
that  man  who  is  the  holder  of  a  small  office  is  for- 
ever on  his  back  [i.e.,  in  hot  water].  Of  course  we 
must  all  begin  in  the  lower  grades,  and  prove  by 
ability  and  learning  that  we  are  worthy  of  the  higher 
ones;  but  during  my  years  of  small  tenure  I  was  con- 


264        MEMOIRS   OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

stantly  miserable  at  heart,  and  I  am  sure,  even  with 
the  wealth  my  father  gave  me,  that  had  it  not  been 
for  the  friendship  of  Tseng-kofan,  and  the  chances 
for  advancement  that  came  through  the  military 
branch  —  which  I  once  so  despised  —  I  should  have 
turned  to  agriculture  and  horticulture  alone  as  my 
life's  work." 

Tseng-kofan,  of  whom  Li  here  speaks,  was  the 
great  Viceroy  of  Nanking,  who  gave  the  author  his 
first  opportunity  as  a  military  leader,  and  to  whom 
extended  references  are  made  in  other  parts  of  the 
memoirs. 

"That  former  memorial  made  to  the  Throne  was 
cast  into  my  face  when  I  returned  from  the  peace 
negotiations  with  Japan,  and  for  one  reason  I  was 
glad  that  it  was;  for  it  entirely  disproved  the  words 
of  the  carpers,  who  were  maintaining,  on  the  one 
hand,  that  our  enemies  had  bribed  me  into  turning 
Formosa  over  to  them,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
I  was  browbeaten  by  the  Japanese,  and  had  no 
bravery  of  heart  nor  strength  of  mind. 

"Last  year,  in  the  ninth  moon,  in  writing  my 
free  and  full  excuses  to  Their  Majesties,  I  wrote  in 
part  as  follows  regarding  the  cession  of  Formosa: 
'The  records  of  the  Grand  Council  will  show,  I 
believe — if  they  are  as  truthfully  kept  and  preserved 
as  it  is  important  they  should  be  —  that  as  much  as 
twenty- three  years  ago  I  memorialised  the  Throne, 


THE   CESSION  OF  FORMOSA  265 

or  at  least  attempted  to,  to  the  effect  that  Taiwan 
was  a  black  ulcer  spot  upon  the  beautiful  and  sacred 
body  of  the  empire,  and  that  to  cause  its  removal,  by 
whatever  means,  would  be  a  blessing  to  the  country. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  at  that  time  I  was  in  any  league 
with  our  enemies  the  Japanese.  My  heart  was  as 
full  of  hatred  for  them  at  one  time  as  at  another, 
and  no  one — excepting  my  own  countrymen — can 
accuse  me  of  a  fondness  for  Nippon,  the  Japanese 
least  of  all.  In  1873  I  nearly  lost  my  office  because 
I  would  advocate  the  giving  away  of  a  worse  than 
worthless  possession,  and  now  I  am  accused  of  a 
weakness  of  spirit  because  at  Shimonoseki  I  agreed 
to  give  them  something  that  I  was  certain  China  did 
not  want.' 

"It  is  true  that  when  Marquis  Ito  stipulated,  as 
one  of  the  chief  terms  of  peace,  that  Formosa  should 
be  ceded,  I  immediately  declared  that  I  was  will- 
ing to  agree  to  almost  anything  but  that;  yet,  had  I 
been  in  another  apartment,  all  alone,  I  should  have 
danced  for  joy  in  spite  of  all  my  infirmities.  As  it  was 
my  heart  was  indeed  glad,  but  I  requested  the  chief 
plenipotentiary  to  say  at  least  that  the  Mikado 
would  not  insist  upon  having  the  big  island.  His 
Excellency  agreed  to  put  the  question  over  until 
the  next  session  of  the  commissioners,  and  dur- 
ing the  intervening  time  I  was  sore  afraid  he 
would  change  his  mind  and  announce  that  his 
Government  did  not  want  it.  On  the  contrary, 
however,  upon  the  reassembling  of  the  negotiators, 


266         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

the  Japanese  members  insisted  that  Formosa  be 
ceded  to  the  Mikado,  and,  after  much  parley,  I 
reluctantly  agreed.  All  the  members  of  our  party 
fully  agreed  with  me  that  we  were  doing  particularly 
well  in  getting  rid  of  the  possession,  and  it  was 
my  expectation  that  the  Throne  and  the  Minis- 
ters would  also  look  upon  the  matter  in  the  same 
light. 

"But  I  have  found  that  you  cannot  hope  always, 
even  when  you  are  doing  your  best,  for  the  appro- 
bation of  others.  More  times  than  many  during  the 
past  two  years  have  I  heard  it  said  in  high  quarters 
that  I  traded  away  a  most  valuable  possession,  yet 
I  will  tell  my  countrymen,  that  they  may  know  it 
now  and  remember  it  in  the  future,  that  at  that 
peace  conference  I  should  almost  have  been  willing 
to  add  Formosa  to  any  demands  the  Mikado  should 
make  —  if  those  demands  could  have  been  agreed 
to  at  all  —  and  to  pay  him  something  additional  for 
taking  the  island  off  our  hands. 

"What  could  China  want  of  such  an  ulcer  pos- 
session? In  the  first  instance,  had  Formosa  been 
of  any  real  value,  England  or  France  would  have 
made  pretensions  to  it  years  ago,  and  we  should  have 
lost  it  by  force  of  arms,  just  as  we  have  lost  other 
territory  along  that  coast.  But  these  Westerners 
knew  its  real  value,  —  or  its  real  worthlessness,  I 
should  say,  —  and  the  island  was  left  in  our  un- 
disturbed possession.  If  we  were  a  naval  power, 
as  years  ago  I  urged  we  should  be,  declaring  myself 


THE   CESSION  OF  FORMOSA  267 

ready  to  spend  millions  of  taels  of  my  own  money 
in  the  building  of  a  Chinese  navy  that  would  give  us 
some  real  strength  at  sea,  we  might  find  some  little 
use  for  Formosa  as  a  naval  base;  but  as  a  colony,  a 
possession,  or  a  province,  it  was  a  distinct  injury  to 
China  from  the  first  day  it  owned  allegiance  to  the 
Throne. 

"It  is  not  as  if  the  Formosans  were  really  people 
of  the  Mongolian  race.  They  are  neither  of  us 
nor  with  us,  and  we  praise  all  the  ancestors  that 
this  is  so!  In  all  Asia,  in  all  the  world,  I  believe, 
there  are  no  tribes  of  animals  called  men  more 
degraded  and  filthy  than  these  people  of  Taiwan. 
And  have  we  not  enough  of  criminals  and  low  crea- 
tures to  deal  with  on  the  mainland?  These  people 
are  not  farmers,  they  are  not  hill-men,  nor  hunters 
of  wild  beasts  whose  skins  bring  in  money  and  keep 
men's  bodies  warm  in  the  cold  winters.  No,  they  are 
not  even  fit  to  be  soldiers  in  trained  armies,  for  they 
have  no  discipline,  nor  could  they  be  taught.  Neither 
would  they  make  good  sailors  on  regular  ships, 
though  many  of  the  coastmen  are  good  enough  as 
wild  pirates  and  buccaneers  of  the  sea.  They  are 
cut-throats,  all  of  them,  along  the  coasts  and  back 
in  the  jungles.  And  so  they  have  been  from  the 
days  of  Chia-Ch'ing  to  the  present  time. 

"No,  they  are  not  all  even  of  so  good  a  class  as 
that!  For  what  are  opium-smokers,  head-hunters, 
and  filthy  lepers?  I  know  from  all  I  have  learned 
in  official  and  commercial  quarters  — the  latter 


268         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

when  I  was  President  of  the  North  Sea  Trade  — 
that  a  very  large  number  of  these  people  are  opium- 
users  of  the  lowest  kind,  and  those  who  do  not  use 
the  hellish  concoction  only  abstain  from  it  because 
it  is  not  within  their  power  or  means  to  obtain  that 
dirtiest  of  evil  drugs,  which  England  has  for  fifty 
years  forced  upon  the  people  of  China.  If  the  opium 
could  not  be  obtained  from  the  near-by  coast  ports, 
if  our  own  merchant  seamen  were  not  compelled  to 
carry  the  vile  stuff,  neither  could  the  islanders  of 
Formosa  have  obtained  it  and  made  themselves  so 
low  in  the  moral  scale. 

"  I  am  perfectly  well  aware  that  some  of  our  states- 
men have  expressed  great  expectations  regarding  the 
future  of  the  island ;  and  by  some  the  building  of  the 
Tainan  railway-line  was  regarded  as  the  beginning 
of  real  industrial  and  financial  progress.  But  I  my- 
self talked  several  times  with  Lin  Ming  Ching  about 
that  railroad  enterprise,  as  well  as  other  proposed 
industrial  undertakings,  and  Ching  —  who  had  for- 
merly been  an  enthusiast  —  declared  finally  that 
he  had  lost  faith  in  the  island  as  a  place  of  invest- 
ment. This  was  in  strange  contrast  with  his  lan- 
guage of  former  years,  when  he  came  to  me  and 
proposed  that  I  furnish  capital  for  some  mining 
projects  in  the  interior.  As  a  matter  of  fact  I  had, 
and  still  have,  small  amounts  invested  in  properties  in 
Takow  and  Tainan;  but  I  shall  look  for  no  greater 
returns  from  them  than  I  believe  Japan  will  receive 
from  her  political  investment. 


THE  CESSION  OF  FORMOSA  269 

"If  China  did  not  have  hundreds  of  millions  of 
acres  in  the  west,  millions  of  them  in  Mongolia, 
millions  in  Kiangsu  and  Shensi,  untold  millions  even 
in  the  far  western  provinces  and  in  Tibet,  that  are 
as  yet  unpeopled,  we  might  be  drawn  to  this  great 
island  and  attempt  its  regeneration.  But  with  these 
vast  areas  unpeopled  and  untilled,  what  do  we  want 
of  the  wild  forests  of  Formosa,  filled  as  they  are  with 
head-hunters  and  opium-eaters? 

"The  island  is  unsavoury  in  history,  even  from 
the  time  of  Chia-Ch'ing  and  beyond;  and  great 
outlays  of  money  and  means  have  been  necessary  at 
various  times  to  put  down  millions  of  these  vile 
robbers.  Think  of  the  great  Kashgaria  outbreak  and 
what  it  cost!  And  in  the  good  Chien  Lung's  reign 
many  lives  and  much  treasure  were  exhausted  in 
quelling  the  wild  rebellions  that  broke  forth.  Can 
any  one  name  a  single  man  born  in  Formosa  who  has 
brought  either  glory  or  treasure  to  China?  Some  will 
answer,  'Yes,  Koxinga';  and  perhaps  I  will  agree, 
for  Koxinga  did  do  one  good  thing,  —  at  least  good 
for  the  Dutch,  —  he  drove  them  from  the  island! 

"  It  will  be  said  by  those  who  are  my  enemies  — 
and  perhaps  not  denied  by  my  friends  —  that  this 
paper  is  written  wholly  with  the  idea  of  defending 
my  personal  name  in  this  matter.  In  a  sense,  of 
course,  this  is  true;  but  in  a  very  much  larger  sense 
it  is  not  true,  for  the  principal  object  of  this  writing  is 
to  convince  my  countrymen  that  in  the  ceding  of 
Formosa  to  the  Japanese,  China  has  really  not  lost 


270        MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

anything  of  value;  instead,  she  will  eventually  be  the 
gainer  thereby.  We  never  have  been  in  a  position  to 
defend  the  possession,  were  it  worth  defending,  from 
any  Western  Power,  nor  even  from  Japan  in  later 
years.  And  in  all  times  of  necessity  must  it  have 
been  a  menace  to  our  international  relations.  Eng- 
land, entrenched  forever  at  Hong-Kong,  would  have 
been  no  stronger  in  possession  of  Formosa;  yet  for 
the  balance  of  power  in  Eastern  waters  I  should  much 
prefer  to  see  the  island  in  possession  of  the  Japanese. 
They,  in  course  of  time,  may  find  some  use  for  it 
in  their  sea  operations,  or  as  a  dumping-ground  for 
millions  of  their  coolies,  who,  otherwise,  must  even- 
tually overrun  Korea  and  the  mainland.  But  I  am 
sure  that  in  the  years  to  come  they  will  not  re- 
gard me  in  the  light  of  such  a  noble  giver  as  some  of 
my  critics  would  have  China  to-day  believe." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

ESTIMATES  OF   PROMINENT   PERSONS 
THE   CZAR   OF   RUSSIA 

(Written  at  Peking  in  August,  1897.)  —  "The 
mails  brought  me  a  handsome  new  portrait  of  the 
Czar  and  Czarina  of  Russia  to-day,  richly  framed 
and  accompanied  by  a  long  personal  note  from  His 
Majesty.  It  is  already  hanging  in  my  own  room 
beside  those  other  portraits  which  Their  Majesties 
were  pleased  to  present  to  me  during  my  visit  to 
Moscow. 

"  I  shall  never  cease  to  think  most  happily  of  the 
Czar,  nor  forget  the  very  great  consideration  he 
showed  me  in  Russia.  There  were,  of  course,  many 
vital  questions  regarding  Eastern  affairs  upon  which 
he  desired  to  obtain  my  views;  and  I  was  quite  as 
anxious  to  learn  what  were  his  intents  and  purposes 
with  reference  to  matters  of  great  interest  and  im- 
port to  China.  But,  aside  from  all  political  considera- 
tions, His  Majesty  treated  me  quite  as  a  visiting 
sovereign  at  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow  rather  than 
as  a  mere  Special  Ambassador  to  his  coronation. 
The  good  Czarina,  too,  —  I  could  tell  by  her  face 
that  she  was  a  good  woman  as  well  as  a  good  Em- 
press, —  treated  me  with  a  consideration  that  is 
pleasing  to  a  man  of  my  years. 


272        MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

"  I  am  not  sure  whether  it  was  five  or  six  audiences 
I  had  with  the  Czar  during  my  stay.  I  use  the  word 
'  audiences,'  but  they  were  not  that.  Only  one  or  two 
were  of  the  formal  or  ceremonial  kind,  and  at  these 
other  envoys  were  present.  But  the  others  were 
simply  face  to  face  visits,  with  good  tea,  good  wine, 
and,  I  suppose  the  Europeans  would  call  it,  good 
music. 

"Of  course,  it  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  thank  the 
Czar  for  having  especially  requested  the  Throne  that 
I  be  sent  as  China's  representative  to  the  coronation. 
Another,  whom  I  need  not  now  name,  had  been 
chosen  to  represent  the  Sacred  Car  [Their  Chinese 
Majesties]  at  the  great  ceremonies;  but  almost  at  the 
last  hour  Nicholas  himself  sent  word  by  telegraph 
that  my  appointment  would  be  most  pleasing  to  him. 
There  was  nothing  then  for  the  Palace,  especially  in 
view  of  our  recent  negotiations  with  the  Russian 
Government,  but  to  send  me  instead.  I  had  never 
intended  to  leave  China,  that  is,  as  a  mere  sight-seer 
about  the  globe;  but  the  Czar's  request  gave  me  good 
opportunity  for  viewing  some  of  the  other  great 
countries  of  the  world,  especially  Russia,  Germany, 
France,  Belgium,  and  England  in  Europe,  and  the 
great  United  States  in  America. 

"  During  one  of  my  evening  visits  to  the  Czar  the 
conversation  was  almost  wholly  upon  the  trip  he  had 
taken  to  the  Far  East  when  Crown  Prince  of  Russia. 
During  that  journey  he  had  learned  quite  a  number 
of  Chinese  phrases,  some  of  them  quite  long  and 


ESTIMATES  OF  PROMINENT  PERSONS    273 

involved;  and  these  he  repeated  to  me  at  intervals 
during  the  evening.  He  referred  laughingly  to  the 
attempt  that  had  been  made  on  his  life  by  one  of 
my  own  countrymen ;  and  remarked  that  now,  after 
being  a  Czar,  he  was  getting  accustomed  to  such 
things.  At  this  remark  the  whole  company  —  there 
were  perhaps  a  dozen  persons  in  the  room  — 
laughed;  all  with  the  exception  of  Count  Witte  and 
myself,  for  I  see  no  humour  in  assassination. 

''During  all  my  personal  visits  to  His  Majesty  he 
was  as  a  very  approachable  and  democratic  man, 
although  I  knew,  of  course,  that  not  many  of  his 
subjects  could  get  as  near  to  him  as  I  had.  Yet  his 
manner  was  free  and  unrestrained,  though  he  was 
ordinarily  most  quiet  if  not  actually  modest  or 
'backward.'  At  first  I  was  very  ill  at  ease  in  his 
presence,  but  when  he  offered  first  cigars,  then  ciga- 
rettes, with  his  own  hands,  and  touched  glasses  over 
fine  wines,  I  felt  that  I  was  siniply  the  guest  of  a 
Russian  gentleman,  and  not  an  envoy  to  the  great 
Czar  of  the  most  extensive  empire  of  the  world. 

"Before  leaving  St.  Petersburg  His  Majesty 
loaded  me  with  many  personal  gifts  —  for  the 
Dowager  Empress  and  the  Emperor,  the  ladies  of 
the  Forbidden  City,  and  for  Lady  Li  and  myself. 
Among  those  for  myself  was  a  rich  robe  of  sable, 
lined  with  purple  satin,  which  I  am  told  is  worth 
at  least  15,000  taels.  This  I  shall  wear  only  when  the 
most  auspicious  occasions  fall  upon  the  coldest 
days." 


274         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

SIR   ROBERT   HART 

(Without  date.)  —  ''The  entire  finances  of  the 
Customs  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  foreigner, 
Sir  Robert  Hart,  and  it  is  predicted  there  will  not 
hereafter  be  a  stringency  in  official  circles.  Let  us 
hope  that  it  may  be  so,  although  I  am  firmly  con- 
vinced that  we  have  native  bankers,  among  them 
[here  many  Chinese  names  are  given]  .  .  .  who  could 
as  well  administer  the  office.  Sir  Robert  is  highly 
commended  by  the  British  Government;  a  very 
natural  thing  since  the  Britishers  are  always  worry- 
ing lest  they  lose  a  few  pounds  in  their  Oriental 
investments." 

"  1883.  —  It  has  been  suggested  that  I  turn  over 
the  Korean  finances  to  the  administration  of  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  but  I  am  not  quite  prepared  to  do  this. 
Personally  I  have  large  sums  at  stake  in  connection 
with  Korean  affairs,  and  I  should  prefer  to  obtain 
my  own  before  trusting  all  to  this  administrator, 
whose  methods  are  sometimes  to  be  questioned." 

^^ December,  1890.  —  Perhaps  of  all  the  foreigners 
who  have  taken  service  under  the  Government  there 
is  no  man  of  as  clean  and  honourable  record  as  Sir 
Robert  Hart,  who  was  my  visitor  and  dinner-guest 
yesterday.  In  the  first  years  of  our  acquaintance, 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  I  was  inclined  to 
distrust  him  —  but  I  distrust  all  men  until  I  know 
^  them ;  yet  as  I  have  come  to  know  him  better,  and 


ESTIMATES  OF  PROMINENT  PERSONS    275 

to  study  from  year  to  year  what  he  has  accom- 
plished, I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  in  this  Irish- 
Britisher  the  empire  has  found  one  of  its  truest 
and  most  loyal  friends,  as  well  as  an  administrator 
of  finances  who  is  as  honest  and  painstaking  as  he 
is  brilliant  and  pleasing." 

MR.    GLADSTONE 

"As  I  wrote  during  my  world  journey,  if  I  could 
not  be  Li  Hung  Chang  I  should  next  prefer  to  be  the 
Prime  Minister  of  England.  It  is  true  I  should  not 
want  to  have  his  ailments,  and  I  presume  he  would 
not  like  to  possess  my  rheumatism  and  heart  trou- 
bles; but  Mr.  Gladstone  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  me  during  the  few  hours  I  was  at  his  home. 
He  appeared  to  me  as  a  man  not  only  of  great  men- 
tality but  of  wonderful  strength  of  will  and  courage 
of  conviction.  His  face  looked  to  me  more  honest 
than  any  other  I  had  seen  in  all  Europe,  and  I  believe 
if  such  a  man  as  he  were  at  the  head  of  England's 
affairs  no  great  wrong  would  ever  be  done  by  that 
Government." 

GOVERNOR   HASTINGS   OF   PENNSYLVANIA 

"They  tell  me  that  Napoleon  was  a  very  small 
man,  who  did  not  at  all  look  like  an  emperor. 
When  I  saw  General  Hastings,  in  Philadelphia,  it 
occurred  to  me  that  Napoleon,  with  all  his  armies 
and  territories,  should  have  looked  like  this  gallant 
American ! 


276        MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

"I  have  heard  that  he  is  since  dead,  but  I  hope 
that  it  is  not  so,  for  I  had  intended  writing  him  upon 
my  return  to  China,  and  I  also  very  much  wished 
to  send  him  enough  of  the  finest  tea  to  last  his  family 
all  their  days. 

"Though  he  looked  so  like  what  an  emperor 
ought  to  look,  or  as  a  fine  general-in-chief  of  a  tre- 
mendous victorious  army.  General  Hastings  was 
indeed  a  warm-hearted,  jovial  man,  with  pure  hu- 
mour all  over  his  handsome  face.  We  sat  together 
for  some  hours  in  a  semi-official  hotel  or  club  in 
Philadelphia,  and  it  was  most  unfortunate  that 
we  could  not  converse  in  a  common  language  with- 
out the  use  of  interpreters.  These  latter  are  most 
annoying  to  me  when  social  matters  are  under  dis- 
cussion. They  spoil  one's  remarks,  and  oftentimes 
do  not  understand  the  point  themselves.  In  political 
or  business  life  they  may  be  tolerated;  in  fact,  they 
are  sometimes  very  useful  as  witnesses." 

PRESIDENT   CLEVELAND 

"It  was  a  source  of  regret  to  me  that  I  could 
not  get  from  President  Cleveland  a  promise  to  visit 
the  Far  East  as  his  illustrious  predecessor  General 
Grant  —  who  put  down  the  American  rebellion 
during  those  years  when  I  was  ridding  China  of  the 
Taipings  —  had  done  seventeen  years  before.  If 
Mr.  Cleveland  had  said  he  would  make  a  visit  to 
China  it  would  have  been  my  great  honour  and 
pleasure  to  arrange  for  him  the  most  elaborate  and 


ESTIMATES  OF  PROMINENT  PERSONS    277 

distinguished  reception  ever  accorded  a  great  man 
in  China.  But  the  American  President  would  not 
give  me  the  faintest  hope  in  this  respect,  declar- 
ing that  when  his  days  of  ofhce  were  finished  he 
hoped  to  go  to  some  quiet  place  in  the  country,  and 
no  more  take  an  active  part  in  the  public  affairs  of 
the  United  States. 

'"There  will  be  younger,  better,  and  abler  men 
to  look  after  the  country's  well-being,'  he  said. 

"It  was  and  still  is  difficult  for  me  to  understand 
this  attitude,  for,  after  all  his  years  of  power  at  the 
head  of  a  great  people,  I  could  not  see  how  he  should 
want  to  relinquish  so  much  and  go  voluntarily  into 
private  life.   It  is  not  the  way  with  us  here  in  China. 

"I  asked  the  President  what  his  age  was,  and  he 
told  me,  but  I  have  forgotten  just  the  number  of 
years.  I  believe  they  were  as  many  as  fourteen  or 
fifteen  less  than  my  own.  He  said  that  he  had  no 
infirmity  of  moment,  and  that  he  enjoyed  the  woods 
and  the  fields,  boating,  hunting,  and  fishing.  (How 
the  people  of  China  would  stare  if  they  should  see  the 
Emperor,  or  even  myself,  fishing!)  Mr.  Cleveland 
looked  to  me  like  one  who  had  spent  much  of  his  life 
outdoors;  a  strong,  heavy  man,  who  reminded  me 
much  of  Bismarck,  except  that  his  face  was  not  so 
florid,  nor  his  voice  so  loud." 

SIR   NICHOLAS   O'CONOR 

"  In  all  my  dealings  with  this  fine  British  Minister 
I  have  found  him  above  the  slightest  reproach. 


278         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

During  his  time  in  Korea  I  was  in  close  touch  with 
all  his  movements,  and  it  was  with  great  pleasure 
that  I  heard  of  his  transfer  to  Peking.  After  he 
came  here  we  became  warm  personal  friends;  but 
that  did  not  at  any  time  interfere  with  the  battles 
we  were  almost  constantly,  for  a  number  of  years, 
compelled  to  wage." 

MARQUIS   ITO 

"He  was  always  a  hard  man  to  make  a  bargain 
with,  but  this  perversity  and  stubbornness  was  not 
personal.  It  belongs  to  the  nation  of  which  he  was 
so  distinguished  a  representative.  Kind  at  heart, 
and  a  gentleman  by  nature,  he  was  forever  driven 
by  those  behind  him  at  Tokio  to  present  a  front  of 
almost  unrelenting  severity.  He  served  his  country 
well  —  much  better  than  she  deserved." 

UNITED    STATES   MINISTER   CONGER 

"I  have  come  to  know  His  Excellency  Major 
Conger,  of  the  United  States  Legation,  as  I  have 
known  few  Americans;  and  Madam  Conger  and 
Lady  Li  are  well  known  to  each  other.  Major 
Conger  was  here  [Peking  residence]  yesterday,  and 
together  we  went  over  the  events  of  the  late  [Boxer] 
outbreak;  not  as  opposing  diplomats  endeavouring 
to  learn  secrets  from  each  other,  but  as  friends  who 
have  seen  one  of  the  most  dangerous  incidents  in  all 
Chinese  history  lose  its  terrible  importance  and  be 
smoothed  over.    Minister  Conger,  backed  by  the 


ESTIMATES  OF  PROMINENT  PERSONS    279 

United  States,  was  a  strong  friend  of  my  country's 
during  those  fearful  weeks.  I  tremble  to  think  of 
what  might  have  been  China's  fate  but  for  the  stand 
taken  by  the  American  Government." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   OPIUM   HABIT   AND   TRAFFIC 

If  the  expression  is  permissible,  the  diary  of  Viceroy 
Li  is  as  thickly  dotted  with  references  to  the  opium 
habit  and  traffic  as  are  the  poppy-fields  with  the 
bloom  of  the  drug-giving  plant  in  the  June  days. 
He  appears  to  have  been  a  violent  hater  of  the  devas- 
tating narcotic  and  its  votaries  from  youth  to  old 
age,  yet  he  frankly  tells  of  his  own  engagement  in 
opium  culture,  "for  the  sake  of  medicine  and  medi- 
cine alone,"  and  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  some 
parts  of  his  estates  in  Hupeh  were  "leased  for  its 
culture."  Altogether,  those  parts  of  his  diary  and 
memoirs  relating  to  the  subject,  especially  in  view 
of  the  heroically  drastic  measures  adopted  by  the 
Chinese  Republic  for  the  suppression  of  the  use  of 
and  traffic  in  opium,  are  without  doubt  among  the 
most  interesting  of  all  his  writings. 

The  earliest  reference  found  in  his  diary  proper 
appears  to  have  been  written  in  1845,  when  he  was 
still  a  student  at  Hofei,  about,  indeed,  the  time  of 
the  so-called  Opium  War.   It  follows. 

"It  is  not  only  for  weeks  but  for  many  months 
that  I  have  laboured  with  my  good  friend  Ho-Kai 
to  prevail  upon  him  to  abstain  from  the  vice  which 
has  found  its  way  into  the  neighbourhood ;  but  with 
the  quitting  of  his  interest  in  all  things  I  fear  my 


THE  OPIUM   HABIT  AND   TRAFFIC     281 

words  and  counsel  have  been  wasted.  Yet  I  blame 
his  father  more  than  any  one  else,  for  the  old  swine- 
raiser  brought  the  habit  into  the  family,  and  all  his 
sons  make  use  of  the  terrible  extract. 

"To-day  I  sought  out  Ho-Kai  in  his  home,  but  his 
mother  told  me  he  was  seldom  there  now,  for  he 
spends  much  of  his  time  in  the  walled  village  in 
drunken  stupor.  His  father  does  likewise,  and  at 
least  one  of  his  brothers.  It  would  seem  as  if,  when 
the  scourge  attacks  one  of  a  family,  it  does  not  spare 
many  of  its  members,  and  that  in  the  second  gener- 
ation its  hold  is  worse  than  in  the  first.  Oh,  how 
thankful  I  am  that  Heaven  has  spared  our  family, 
that  my  father  taught  us  to  avoid  this  evil !  Why  will 
a  man  like  Ho-Kai,  senior,  bring  corruption  directly 
to  his  own  home?  Does  it  not  show  how  low  the 
victim  of  this  vice  will  fall? 

"This  day,  though  my  father  has  warned  me 
strictly  to  avoid  his  company,  I  went  into  the  high 
village  in  search  of  Ho-Kai.  It  was  no  trouble  to  find 
him,  for  the  vile  place  where  he  spends  most  of  his 
time  is  now  known  to  all  the  neighbourhood,  since 
it  is  said  that  more  than  two  hundred  in  this  district 
are  users  of  the  foreign  drug.  My  friend,  whom  I 
met  outside  the  place  on  his  way  home,  grew  angry 
with  me  when  I  protested  at  his  unseemly  conduct. 
But  I  was  willing  to  stand  his  anger  for  his  sister's 
sake,  and  for  his  mother's,  for  the  family  is  of  the 
shan-sz  [the  local  gentry],  and  we  have  ever  been 
on    most   intimate   terms  with   them.    Besides,  a 


282         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG  CHANG 

good  aunt  of  Ho-Kai's  is  a  secondary  wife  of  my 
father's,  and  a  much-respected  woman.  Yet  my  for- 
mer friend  and  schoolmate  would  not  listen  to  my 
words,  declaring  that  he  now  loves  the  foreign  drug 
more  than  he  ever  did  the  classics.  Is  it  not  won- 
derful how  a  good  man,  though  not  greatly  tal- 
ented, will  put  his  head  into  the  fu-nun,  the  tiger's 
mouth?" 

"Later  [without  date].  —  Ho-Kai's  father  is  dead; 
it  is  the  foreign  drug  which  killed  him,  though  some 
believe  that  he  took  too  much,  knowing  that  the 
respect  in  which  his  former  associates  held  him  was 
forever  gone,  and  his  property  in  the  hands  of  the 
usurers.  Ho-Kai,  himself,  is  no  longer  at  his  home, 
but  one  of  the  miserable  beggars  of  the  highway.  His 
eyes  are  nearly  blind,  though  he  is  some  years 
younger  than  myself.  When  I  went  along  the  road 
yesterday  he  did  not  know  me.  I  should  be  glad 
to  see  him  die,  too ;  and  I  believe  it  will  not  be  long 
before  he  follows  his  father." 

A  dozen  years  later,  when  Li  Hung  Chang  was 
the  commander  of  the  victorious  Imperial  troops 
at  Nanking,  he  wrote :  — 

"We  found  the  great  city  full  of  the  opium  evil, 
and  hundreds  who  had  not  had  solid  food  for  many 
days  were  still  sufficiently  supplied  with  this  terrible 
curse,  so  that  they  slept  and  dreamed  through  the 
riot  and  battle  about  them.    To  General  Ching  I 


THE  OPIUM  HABIT  AND  TRAFFIC     283 

gave  orders  that  all  persons  found  with  the  drug  in 
their  possession,  all  persons  under  its  baneful  influ- 
ence, and  all  persons,  of  whatever  force  they  had 
been  or  were  allied  to,  who  sought  the  drug  either  for 
their  own  use  or  to  engage  in  the  profitable  business 
of  trafficking  in  it,  should  be  decapitated. 

"Immediately  upon  receiving  these  orders,  Gen- 
eral Ching  was  indiscreet  enough  to  enter  into  argu- 
ment with  General  Gordon,  though  I  have  forbidden 
the  former  to  arouse  the  Englishman.  After  I  had 
severely  reprimanded  him  he  went  upon  the  errand 
assigned  him,  and  this  morning  reported  that  he 
had  executed  more  than  twelve  hundred  users  and 
retailers  of  the  drug.  It  is  good  work,  and  it  further 
commends  Ching  in  my  sight. 

"Once,  without  intending  in  the  least  to  hurt 
the  English  gentleman's  feelings,  I  spoke  of  his 
countrymen  as  being  largely  to  blame  for  the  importa- 
tion of  opium  into  the  land.  The  occasion  for  the 
remark  was  the  giving  of  the  order  by  myself  for  the 
death  by  ling-chi  [cutting  to  bits]  of  an  officer  of  the 
Shantung  bannermen,  who  had  sold  the  drug  among 
the  officers  of  our  force,  but  who  himself  neither 
smoked  nor  ate  it. 

' '  General  Gordon  flew  into  a  terrible  fit  of  anger 
without  waiting  for  me  to  explain  that  I  but  uttered 
the  words  in  jest  so  far  as  he  was  personally  con- 
cerned, and  declared  that  he  should  not  be  surprised 
if  it  were  true  that  a  few  low  Englishmen  could  be 
found  willing  to  engage  in  the  trade;  but,  he  added, 


284         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

there  were  millions  of  low  Chinese  ready  for  It  when 
it  was  brought  to  them.  I  did  not  like  his  remark, 
and  told  him  so;  but  the  subject  was  not  spoken  of 
again  between  us,  for  he  was  quite  as  great  an  opium 
hater  as  myself.  It  was  because  of  my  knowing  this, 
as  well  as  of  his  very  sensitive  national  pride,  that 
I  had  warned  Chlng. 

"Viceroy  Tseng-kofan  used  the  drug  somewhat 
during  his  younger  days,  though  not  to  excess.  His 
mind  is  wonderfully  strong,  and  it  is  not  difficult  for 
me  to  believe  that  even  with  great  temptations  about 
him  he  would  not  fall  victim  to  this  abuse  as  easily  as 
other  men.  If  I  remember  rightly,  he  once  told  me 
that  for  a  while,  during  his  younger  scholastic  days, 
he  felt  that  the  foreign  curse  was  getting  the  better 
of  him,  and  that  his  great  devotion  to  mathematics 
saved  him  from  ruin.  Yes,  I  am  sure  it  was  Tseng- 
kofan,  but  whether  he  told  me  directly,  or  I  heard  it 
concerning  him,  I  cannot  now  remember.  However, 
he  knew  that  his  power  of  solving  problems  of  as- 
tronomy and  mathematics  was  leaving  him,  and 
he  determined  forever  to  abandon  the  drug." 

"  Viceregal  Yamen,  Tientsin,  1893.  —  A  statement 
has  been  translated  to  me  from  one  of  the  London 
papers,  in  which  I  am  quoted  as  saying  to  the 
Honourable  George  N.  Curzon  that  I  do  not,  in 
common  with  most  Chinese,  hold  Great  Britain 
responsible  for  the  importation  of  opium  into  China. 

''In  the  first  place,  I  never  in  my  life  made  such 


THE  OPIUM   HABIT  AND  TRAFFIC     285 

an  outrageous  assertion;  in  the  second  place,  I  feel 
sure  that  Mr.  Curzon  never  said  I  did;  and,  in  the 
third  place,  both  Mr.  Curzon  and  myself,  as  well  as 
every  well-read  and  intelligent  Britisher  or  Oriental, 
is  aware  of  the  unhappy  and  disgraceful  fact  that 
but  for  Great  Britain  there  would  not  be  a  picul  of 
opium  sold  in  China  to-day  for  illegitimate  use;  by 
this  I  mean  for  use  outside  the  legitimate  practice 
of  medicine. 

"This  may  appear  to  be  a  strong  assertion,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  it  will  be  as  strongly  denied  and  con- 
demned; but  it  is  a  true  one,  nevertheless,  and  the 
entire  history  of  trade  and  traffic  in  the  Orient  will 
substantiate  my  every  word. 

"A  great  many  fine  Englishmen  have  been  friends 
of  mine,  and  I  number  to-day  many  of  that  race 
among  my  intimates:  ministers  and  consuls,  army 
and  navy  officers,  engineers,  and  hundreds  and  hun- 
dreds of  merchants.  These  men  know  that  I  have 
great  admiration  for  them  and  their  race,  and,  in  all 
seasons  and  times,  for  their  sacred  and  virtuous 
Queen.  But  for  the  Government,  so  far  as  it  has 
made  itself  not  only  the  agent  but  the  guardian  of 
the  vicious  opium  trade,  I  have  a  very  sincere  dislike. 

"I  know  that,  because  of  this  money-grasping, 
trade-compelling  feature  of  England's  dealings  with 
my  country,  millions  of  wretched  people  of  China 
have  been  made  more  miserable;  stalwart  men  and 
women  have  been  made  paupers,  vagrants,  and  the 
lowest  of  criminals;  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 


286         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG  CHANG 

the  weaker  ones  of  my  race  —  mainly  among  the 
women  —  have  been  sent  to  suicide  graves. 

"And  all  this  because  otherwise  India  might  not 
prosper ! 

"And  all  this  because  otherwise  British  trade 
might  not  flourish  in  Chinese  ports! 

"All  this  because  gold  and  territory  are  greater 
in  the  eyes  of  the  British  Government  than  the  rights 
and  bodies  of  a  weak  people. 

"Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  We  Chinese  have  been  laughed 
and  sneered  at  in  the  streets  of  London  itself,  and 
have  been  called  'Pig-tailed  Opium-Eaters,'  when 
for  years  and  years  it  is  the  Government  of  these 
same  Londoners  which  has  been  responsible  for  the 
millions  of  human  wrecks  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

"I  was  asked  once  by  a  British  admiral  at  Amoy 
what  my  estimate  of  the  number  of  opium-users  in 
China  would  be.  I  did  not  reply  directly,  but  ques- 
tioned him  as  to  the  population  of  England;  and 
when  he  told  me  in  the  neighbourhood  of  27,000,000, 
I  said:  'Admiral,  that  is  about  the  number  of  opium 
fiends  in  China.' 

"He  said  he  did  not  get  my  meaning. 

"Then  I  told  him  that,  as  his  country  was  respon- 
sible for  the  vicious  traffic,  each  man  and  woman 
and  child  in  England  might  well  feel  that  there 
was  at  least  one  wretched  being  in  China  as  a  repre- 
sentative. 

"In  this  relation  I  have  often  taken  my  pen  and 


THE  OPIUM  HABIT  AND  TRAFFIC     287 

from  records  before  me  made  estimates  of  the  num- 
ber of  unfortunates  in  this  great  empire  of  ours;  and 
each  time  have  my  figures  told  me  that  about  one 
tenth  of  our  people  are  victims  of  a  vice  that  has 
no  parallel  anywhere  on  earth.  I  could  wish  that  I 
might  make  the  figure  smaller,  but  as  I  have  gone 
over  my  calculations  time  and  time  again,  and  as 
they  include  the  most  wretchedly  diseased  prov- 
inces of  Yunnan  and  Szechuan,  I  feel  that  my  esti- 
mates are  too  low  rather  than  too  high. 

"It  must  not  be  imagined  that  I  am  so  ignorant  of 
history  as  to  claim  that  England  or  any  other  of  the 
Western  nations  was  responsible  for  the  introduction 
of  the  cursed  drug  into  China.  No,  it  came  from  the 
island  of  Java  two  hundred  years  before  the  *  Opium 
War,'  gaining  its  strongest  hold  along  the  coast  and 
in  Formosa.  Kang  H'sai  sent  an  official  to  enquire 
into  the  evil  in  Formosa,  and  he  died  there.  Others 
followed,  became  addicted  to  the  curse,  and  died 
also.  Later,  travellers  and  traders,  crossing  from 
India  and  the  Mohammedan  countries,  introduced 
it  into  the  western  provinces;  and,  still  later,  this 
devil's  extract  entered  the  country  as  gifts  to  princes 
and  others  in  high  places. 

"I  am  fully  aware  of  the  growth  of  the  vice  in 
China,  for  even  as  a  boy  at  school  I  saw  its  ravages, 
and  I  enquired  whence  it  came,  and  why  it  was 
brought.  Even  a  bosom  friend  and  student  —  whose 
name  I  do  not  just  now  recall  —  became  a  victim 
of  the  habit,  left  his  home,  and  was  finally  stoned  to 


288         MEMOIRS  OF  LI   HUNG   CHANG 

death  by  order  of  the  magistrate  because  he  had 
become  entirely  bereft  of  reason  and  decency. 

"Yes,  in  all  my  years  —  in  my  studies,  in  the 
army,  during  the  wars  and  the  famines,  in  all  my 
political  and  business  life,  I  have  studied  and  com- 
bated this  devouring  evil ;  and  the  more  I  know  and 
see  and  learn  of  it  the  greater  does  England's  crime 
become  in  my  eyes.  England  —  proud  and  mighty 
and  rich  England  —  England  with  her  great  armies 
and  navies  and  great  men  —  is  shamed  and  covered 
with  ignominy  because  of  the  crimes  of  her  Indian 
poppy! 

'*It  has  been  stated  times  without  number,  and 
upon  several  occasions  directly  to  my  face,  that 
while  I  was  seemingly  opposed  to  the  traffic,  I  my- 
self, personally  or  through  agents,  had  dealt  in  the 
drug,  having  grown  poppy  upon  my  own  lands,  and 
having  leased  lands  both  in  Hupeh  and  Pechili  for 
its  cultivation.  I  have  never  denied  the  truth  of 
these  statements,  and  in  this  writing  (a  copy  of 
which  I  intend  to  send  to  the  'Times'  correspond- 
ent at  Peking  and  another  to  the  Honourable  Mr. 
Curzon)  I  shall  acknowledge  that  the  foregoing 
assertions  are  true. 

"But  I  will  immediately  say,  in  order  that  my 
honour  and  my  conscience  be  satisfied,  that  to  my 
knowledge  not  one  farthing's  worth  of  the  opium 
in  which  I  dealt  ever  went  for  smoking  purposes. 
I  would  have  my  secretary  prepare,  if  such  were 
necessary,  a  list  of  the  high  medical  firms  and  men 


THE  OPIUM  HABIT  AND  TRAFFIC     289 

with  whom  I  have  had  business  deaHngs  in  opium, 
and  it  could  easily  be  shown  that  they  are  not  only 
of  the  best  medical  repute  in  China,  Japan,  and 
Russia,  but  that  they,  almost  without  exception,  — 
I  speak  particularly  of  Chinese  doctors  and  concerns 
where  I  have  had  dealings,  —  are  as  bitterly  opposed 
to  the  habit  and  traffic  as  I  myself  am,  such  men  and 
firms  as  could  not  be  approached  by  users  of  the 
drug,  or  by  users'  agents  in  any  way.  Of  course,  so 
far  as  concerns  what  has  become  of  the  commodity 
sent  to  Japan  and  Russia,  I  cannot  say;  only  I  feel 
certain  from  the  price  and  the  grade  dealt  in  that 
very  little  if  any  has  ever  reached  the  so-called  drug 
fiend.  As  to  the  lands  I  have  leased  for  agricultural 
purposes  I  can  only  say  that  never  has  there  been 
a  stipulation  for  or  against  the  poppy ;  but  where  I 
have  found  the  plant  growing  upon  my  lands  I  have 
always  endeavoured  as  a  mere  matter  of  business  to 
have  the  crude  product  sold  to  myself. 

"And  still  another  view  of  this  question  has  been 
taken.  The  Chinese  Government  has,  on  more  than 
a  few  occasions,  been  asked  almost  directly  this 
question:  'If  you  regard  the  importation  of  opium 
into  your  country  in  the  light  of  such  a  dire  evil, 
why  is  it  that  you  do  not  make  and  enforce  laws  pro- 
hibiting the  growth  of  the  poppy  within  your  terri- 
tory?' And  our  Government  has  always  replied: 
'Of  what  avail  would  it  be  when  we  are  still 
'^compelled''  to  open  our  ports  to  the  drug  from 
India?' 


290        MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG   CHANG 

"Could  any  question,  really  a  question  from  one 
Government  to  another,  be  more  ridiculous  and 
could  any  answer  be  more  to  the  point? 

"I  know  that  for  more  than  twenty  years  there 
have  been  repeated  attempts  made  by  outside  inter- 
ested parties  to  have  the  sternest  edicts  issued  from 
the  Northern  Capital  against  the  growth  of  the 
poppy  throughout  China.  Mark  me,  not  against 
the  use  of  the  drug,  the  deadly  and  benumbing  drug, 
but  against  the  cultivation  of  the  plant  from  whose 
pod  the  poison  is  extracted ! 

"I  know,  furthermore,  that  large  sums  of  money 
were  ready  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  certain  high 
officials  if  they  could  secure  such  an  edict  from  the 
Palace. 

"What  would  the  object  of  this  be? 

"The  man  who  could  not  grasp  the  meaning  of 
this  knavish  attempt  would,  indeed,  lack  the  men- 
tality of  a  blind  toad! 

"No;  the  rich  Indians,  backed  by  the  diplomatic 
force  and  physical  strength  of  the  British  Empire, 
would  not  alone  rob  millions  of  degraded  Chinese  of 
their  mental  and  bodily  strength,  but  they  would  sap 
the  last  cash  from  the  land  of  their  victims.  They 
would  drain  our  beloved  country  in  every  way,  and 
leave  us  helpless  dupes  of  the  poppy  farmers  of 
India. 

"I  want  to  say  that  I  am  not  of  those  of  my 
countrymen  who  have  been  in  opposition,  either 
openly  or  secretly,  to  the  advance  of  the  Western 


THE  OPIUM   HABIT  AND  TRAFFIC     291 

Church  in  China.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  from 
very  early  days  welcomed  the  missionary  of  the 
West  as  well  as  the  merchant  or  the  engineer,  and  I 
hope  to  continue  in  this  attitude  to  the  end  of  my 
days ;  for  it  is  my  earnest  belief  that  the  sooner  China 
awakens  her  vast  body  to  all  that  is  good  in  the 
West,  without  sacrificing  her  own  virtues  and  high 
qualities,  without  neglecting  her  own  splendid  phi- 
losophy and  beautiful  literature,  —  the  gifts  of  her 
sages  and  poets  for  centuries  and  centuries,  —  the 
sooner  will  she  take  her  place  among  the  Powers 
of  this  age,  and  the  sooner  will  her  people  rise  to  a 
higher  and  better  plane. 

"But  it  must  be  understood  by  all  the  Western 
peoples  that  Christianity  has  suffered  a  much 
slower  growth  among  the  Chinese  because  of  this 
one  curse  of  opium.  Indeed,  what  are  our  people, 
mandarin  and  coolie,  rich  man  and  pauper,  scholar 
and  unlettered  man,  to  think,  when  they  all  know 
that  the  blackest  and  most  deadly  virus  that  has 
been  injected  into  the  nation,  year  after  year,  decade 
after  decade,  has  been  forced  upon  it  by  a  Christian 
Power?  It  is  not  the  scholarly  and  high  and  powerful 
who  become  converts  to  the  Church  of  the  West. 
No.  Neither  do  these  classes  as  a  rule  go  into  the 
gutters  and  to  the  prisons  on  account  of  the  opium 
curse ;  but  they  see  the  vice  all  about  them :  the  grov- 
elling wrecks,  the  opiated  bodies  in  the  execution 
places,  the  wretched  criminals,  the  deserted  wives 
of  the  victims,  and  the  unburied  suicides  upon  the 


292         MEMOIRS  OF  LI  HUNG   CHANG 

plains  and  along  the  paths.   And  they  know  that  a 
great  nation,  a  Christian  nation  above  all  things, 
has  given  this  awful  blight  to  the  Middle  Kingdom. 
"What  are  they  to  think?" 


THE   END 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

LI   HUNG  CHANG  S   POETICAL  WRITINGS  ON  OPIUM 
ODE   TO   THE   POPPY 

{Date  of  writing  unknown) 

Who  would  think  to  look  upon  you, 

Nodding  sweetly  in  the  fields, 
That  the  scented  heart  within  you 

Our  soul's  vilest  passion  yields? 

Who  would  think  to  see  your  verdure, 

In  the  Springtime  lovely  green, 
That  the  garment  nature  gives  you 

Clothes  such  wickedness  and  spleen? 

Who  would  think  to  note  your  sprouting 

As  a  nurtured,  tender  child, 
That  the  blood  that  ran  within  you 

Carried  visions  fiendish  wild? 

Who  would  think  to  see  your  bowing 
To  the  soothing  winds  of  Spring, 

That  you  sheltered  in  your  bosom 
Every  bitterness  and  sting? 

Who  would  think  to  see  you  pluming, 
Like  the  peacock  vain  and  proud, 

That  beneath  your  gorgeous  feathers 
Is  a  note  discordant,  loud? 

Who  would  think  that  in  the  June-time, 

When  in  myriads  o'er  the  plain 
You  do  look  your  brightest,  sweetest, 

That  your  smile  was  hidden  pain? 


296  APPENDIX 

Who  would  think  that  we  who  plant  you, 
And  who  love  to  watch  you  grow, 

Hate  you,  curse  you,  trample  on  you, 
When  you  bring  us  heart-deep  woe? 

Who  would  think  that  tender  flower, 
Watched  by  children  of  the  land. 

Should  return  the  fond  love  given 
By  a  stroke  of  foulest  hand? 

Who  would  think  that  in  our  garden, 
Where  our  eyes  may  ever  see, 

In  disguise  would  grow  a  hell- weed, 
Deadly  in  its  misery? 

Who  would  think  that  in  our  day-dreams 

Of  a  home  all  undefiled 
We  should  rear  —  O  heaven  spare  us!  — 

Such,  in  truth,  a  demon  child? 


THE  SHAME  OF  GREAT  ENGLAND 

(Wriilen  in  1881) 

Great  England  says  she  rules  the  widest  sea 

In  might  and  right  and  white  man's  liberty. 

Her  armoured  ships  and  regiments  of  war 

Span  seas  and  lands  'neath  many  skies  afar. 

She  sends  her  learned  sons  (in  Western  ways  well-taught). 

Where'er  her  flag  has  been,  her  sons  have  fought; 

And  vast  the  good  these  Church  and  school  men  do  — 

If  all  Great  England  claims  for  them  is  true. 

But  has  Great  England  in  her  lordly  boast 
Surveyed  her  pirate  traders  on  our  coast? 
Or  has  she,  while  aloft  her  pride  has  tossed. 
Vouchsafed  one  thought  to  what  her  fame  has  cost? 
Her  traders,  sailing  here  from  India's  strand 
In  quest  of  gold  and  measures  great  of  land, 
Have  brought  within  their  greedy  hands  no  good,  — 
But  vessels  large  for  China's  ebbing  blood! 


APPENDIX  297 

Shame!  shame!  upon  Great  England  of  the  West, 
Upon  her  bristhng  guns  and  all  the  rest, 
For  know  we  not  that  in  this  grand  array 
Is  sceptre  grim  to  lure  our  souls  away? 
Not  as  a  friend  comes  England  to  our  shore, 
But  with  a  cry  for  blood  and  gold,  and  more: 
The  lives  of  countless  thousands,  steeped  deep 
In  her  vile  drug,  in  shameful  homage  creep. 

TO  ALL   WHO   WILL   LISTEN 

(An  early  composition) 

To  all  who  will  listen  I  would  warning  give 

Against  the  vile  poppy  juice. 

But  if  you  will  not  heed 

Upon  your  own  heads  will  fall  calamity ; 

For  in  all  the  Middle  Kingdom, 

Even  from  the  Yellow  on  the  North 

To  the  Pearl  on  the  South, 

And  along  the  banks  of  the  Great  River 

Back  to  the  granite  mountains  of  the  West, 

There  is  no  evil  such  as  this. 

In  the  fields  we  see  the  poppy  growing, 
And  the  great  fields  are  sights  of  gladness, 
For  the  eye  is  pleased  with  the  flowers, 
And  the  scent  is  sweet  to  the  nostrils, 
And  the  birds  are  happy  in  their  homes. 
And  the  ground  mice  sport  and  play. 
All  is  so  innocent  and  good. 
That  we  think  of  the  rice  and  the  maize, 
And  the  orchard  and  the  grasslands, 
And  they  do  not  surpass  the  poppy. 

Yes,  and  it  would  be  so 

If  only  we  might  let  the  flowers 

Bloom  and  die  to  grow  another  year. 

But  men  will  not  let  it  be  so. 

For  from  the  flower  the  poison  is  drawn 

And  given  to  men  to  take  away  their  minds. 


298  APPENDIX 

O  my  brothers  and  all  my  friends, 

If  you  would  hearken  to  good  advice, 

Avoid  the  poppy  juice  forever  and  aye. 

For  it  is  a  plague  most  noxious  and  vile! 

It  will  eat  out  your  minds, 

It  will  rot  away  your  vitals, 

It  will  shrivel  up  your  bowels, 

It  will  make  you  walk  as  a  leper. 

It  will  cast  you  into  prison, 

It  will  send  you  to  your  death! 

But  not  only  you,  my  friend,  will  be  cast  down! 

No,  look  about  you  with  clear  eyes  to-day: 

See  the  misery  and  ruin  it  has  wrought; 

See  the  human  wrecks  on  every  side, 

Lower  than  the  swine  of  the  far  fields; 

See  the  women  bereft  of  home  and  all, 

Now  toiling  in  the  hot  sun  of  the  day, 

Each  day  of  the  long,  long  year. 

That  they  may  buy  rice  for  their  babies, 

And  give  food  to  their  own  bodies! 

Think  of  the  graves  of  every  village. 

The  graves  you  cannot  see  for  want  of  care ! 

Do  some  care  lightly  for  the  palsied. 

Or  those  whose  veins  do  hold  the  plague? 

Yes,  in  all  hearts  there  is  pity 

For  all  that  suffer  other  ills. 

But  for  the  user  of  the  vilesome  juice, 

The  smoker  of  the  demon's  pipe. 

There  is  no  pity  in  any  heart. 

No  welcome  in  e'en  the  lowest  home; 

There  is  no  shame  too  great  for  him, 

No  suffering  he  must  not  bear  alone, 

No  depths  too  deep  for  him  to  sink  into. 

He  thinks  he  lives  in  some  sweet  heaven, 

Yet  wakes  to  find  that  fearsome  hell 

Has  been  his  own  abode 

And  e'er  will  be. 


CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .   S   .   A 


^ 


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